


Sturmkind

by chan_to_the_ho (curseofpandora)



Category: 2PM (Band)
Genre: M/M, Unreal2PM writing challenge, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-22
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-04-22 22:22:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4852730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curseofpandora/pseuds/chan_to_the_ho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p> </p>
<p>Some encounters happen out of the blue, but they can be life-altering nonetheless.</p>
<p>Some people are like storms while others are the ones blown away by them.</p>
<p>When these types of people meet, the outcome is uncertain.</p>
<p>But one thing is for sure.</p>
<p>It will be intense.</p>
<p><br/>
♒</p>
<p><br/>
When the silence beckons</p>
<p>And the day draws to a close</p>
<p>When the light of your life sighs</p>
<p>And love dies in your eyes</p>
<p>Only then will I realize</p>
<p>What you mean to me.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anathema - '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiBZH6L5btQ">Inner Silence</a>'</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. ~First Day~

It was a day like any other.

Or so I thought when I woke up in the morning and followed my daily routine to get ready for work. Up until the point that I entered the underground everything seemed normal.

But once I arrived at the platform, I started to lose my composure.

Everywhere around me were people who looked pretty normal, except they were only wearing regular clothes down to their waists.

No pants or skirts to see, only all kinds of underwear you can imagine.

Slowly, I started to recall reading about this movement on some news outlet, but never would I have thought this trend might arrive in Seoul, too.

Apparently I was wrong and found myself surrounded by people in their mid-twenties who didn’t seem to mind their state at all. Somehow I couldn’t help but feel slightly overdressed, but I tried to fight my embarrassment by avoiding eye-contact.

Thank goodness, I found an empty seat in a remote corner that guaranteed only very few half-naked butts in my view, but as the compartment got more crowded, that changed for the worse as well.

I pulled out my phone, trying to distract myself, but the train came to a sudden halt and made those passengers who were standing stumble and fall.

My face collided with a very well-rounded backside before I even had a chance to react and since the train started moving again soon after, the owner of the butt was unable to get away and landed in my lap.

First I suspected it was a woman, but on closer inspection I realised it was a guy. He tried to get up in a hurry, but it was hard with all the other people still struggling to find a stable position again.

“I’m really sorry, mister.” he uttered, his hand searching for something he could hold on to but instead of the seat he ended up grabbing my thigh and made me yelp in surprise which made him yelp in surprise, too.

“Oh gosh, I didn’t intend to, sorry.”

I didn’t trust my voice at this point, so I decided to just go for it and help him up. My hands found his waist and gave him enough of a push to get him back on his feet, but I couldn’t help feeling a little strange about it.

I wasn’t used to touching men like this, but with him it wasn’t as weird as I had expected it. Felt rather nice actually, but I dismissed that thought as soon as he turned around and looked at me with red cheeks and ears.

“Please accept my apologies, I really didn’t mean to molest you like that.” he blabbered and bowed low.

“‘S okay, it wasn’t your fault.” I replied and had to clear my voice because it sounded a little off. “I’m sorry for grabbing you so unceremoniously just now.”

“Nah, don’t worry, I don’t mind… Wait, that came out wrong, aish!” He mumbled and his blush only deepened, leaving me grinning to myself for a second.

He was quite cute for a guy. Okay, no, make that incredibly cute, since the eye smile he flashed me didn’t allow any other description.

I felt a rush of blood to my cheeks as well and avoided his gaze immediately. No idea why, but somehow he was messing with my head and I wasn’t sure I liked that.

“Hey, uhm, I know this will probably sound strange, but I really feel bad about this sudden butt attack, especially with my lack of pants today… So, eh, can I buy you coffee or something to make up for it?”

This suggestion took me by surprise, so I looked up at him to figure out his intentions. “You really don’t have to. Not like you threw yourself at me intentionally.” Contrary to what I told him, I was still somewhat intrigued to go along with his invitation, though, so I sent him a tiny smile that could be interpreted as playful just as much as it could have passed as a simple friendly smile.

He read it as the former, however, and smiled back just as playfully. “I like how you sound so sure about that…”

The wink he added made me wonder if this had really been an accident, but I didn’t have much time left to make up my mind since my stop was coming up and I had to settle for something soon.

“Listen, I have to get off at the next stop…” I apologised, but his smile didn’t vanish.

“Me too. Maybe we can grab a coffee on the way?”

“I don’t really have time for coffee right now, to be honest. My shift at work starts in twenty minutes.”

I wasn’t sure if it really was a sigh I heard, but he seemed a little deflated by my persistent refusal. Nevertheless, he nodded and his smile gained in brightness. “Okay then. Have a wonderful day, I guess?”

He halted for a moment, hesitating to leave, but when I nodded and smiled back at him, he finally turned around and made his way to the doors. When the train came to a halt, he glanced over his shoulder once more and stepped out.

I still had to grab my backpack, so I lost sight of him for a heartbeat. And with growing disappointment I realised that he had vanished in the mass of people before I had a chance to spot him one last time.


	2. ~Second Day~

A week had passed since the incident in the underground. I woke up as usual, followed my morning routine and made my way to the underground again, almost dreading there’d be another flashmob of the pantless. But much to my relief everyone was fully dressed this time, so I took a seat and leaned back, closing my eyes for a moment to appreciate the lack of social awkwardness in the air.

I felt someone dropping down heavily into the seat next to mine but didn’t bother acknowledging my new neighbour until he cleared his voice. Lazily and somewhat cautious I opened my left eye to check if I was imagining things, but no, he was really sitting there, smile bright as ever and his right thigh almost brushing against my left one since he was facing towards me.

“Hi.” he greeted me, adding a tiny wave of his hand that should have looked silly but felt perfectly natural coming from him. My eyes widened as the realisation sank in and to my own shame I have to admit that I might have been staring at him for longer than what’s socially acceptable. But I hadn’t expected to see him again, much less looking so radiant and happy. And did I mention that his thigh was brushing up to mine? Oh yeah, I did… BUT THE HECK, I FELT THE WARMTH OF HIS BODY THROUGH MY JEANS!

Okay, I was totally not freaking out right there. No. Just making a huge fool out of myself by still staring at him speechlessly. At least, I could give myself some credit for not drooling or anything super awkward, but that was just about it.

Either way, blessed be his patience or his lack of awareness, whichever worked in my favour, but he hadn’t made a run for the hills yet and was still beaming at me with his crescent moon eyes and the sun in his smile. “Uhm, hi?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare! I just didn’t expect to see you again and hi.” I blabbered without pause, eyes everywhere but on him, dreading his response more than anything.

But he didn’t laugh at me or give me funny looks. He just sat there, shaking his head softly before he responded: “It’s okay, I honestly didn’t expect to see you again either. But when I noticed you I decided to come over and say hi… So hi.”

Another somewhat awkward silence fell because I simply couldn’t find the right words to express the joy I felt at the sight of his person. But then I noticed something about his appearance and pointed it out without thinking. Who needs a brain to mouth filter anyway?

“You’re wearing pants.”

His smile remained where it was, but he tilted his head in wonder and looked down at his legs to check for himself. “Yep.”

“You weren’t wearing pants before.” I felt like slapping myself at this point, cursing my brain for failing to work like it should and avoiding these weird topics. He would certainly stop smiling in the next few seconds and leave, thinking I was a complete weirdo.

“That’s right.” was all he said, however, still looking like the happiest person on this planet. I was starting to count down.

“Feels a little weird to see you fully dressed.” I pointed out dryly as if I was talking about the weather and he just kept on beaming at me like a fucking ray of sunshine. Did I mention that he was incredibly beautiful?

“I can imagine... Would you rather I took them off?”

I swear there was a strange sparkle in his eyes when he suggested that and I; socially awkward idiot that I am; completely failed to compete with him for the title of ‘who can be the most suggestive without bursting into flames’. Instead I turned into the human equivalent of a tomato, breaking the eye contact and making him chuckle.

“Hey, I’m sorry. Didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, cutie pie. Listen, maybe we got off on a strange foot, me only wearing my undies during our first meeting and all. I really want to make up for it, though. That is if you don’t see me as a complete pervert by now. Hitting on cute guys in the underground could totally give you that impression, I know…”

“It’s okay, I don’t think you-” I started, only then computing what he had actually said. “You’re hitting on me... You’re hitting on me?!”

He nodded, scratching his head in embarrassment. “I think that’s what people call it when you’re flirting with someone you find interesting?”

I nodded, shook my head and stared at him in complete horror. “Yes. No. I don’t know, I guess? But why?”

His chuckle sounded a little uncertain, but he shrugged and stared into space for a moment before his eyes were on me again. “I’m not sure. There’s something about you that intrigues me. Not just your looks, though. It’s more than that. And I really want to get to know you better. That’s all I can say at this point.”

“You really do?” I was at a loss for words, my intuition telling me I could trust him, but my reason telling me to be careful since he was a stranger and I was not the best person at judging people’s characters.

His face looked genuine when he nodded again, though, and I honestly couldn’t resist that smile of his. “You’re not kidding?”

“I give you my word.”

He seemed solemn, but I wasn’t entirely convinced yet. “You never know the worth of a stranger’s word.”

“I guess you have a point there. And that leaves us with two options. You give me a chance to really introduce myself and get to know you, or we end this here and both of us will never find out who this stranger on the underground really was. Your choice, since you already know which option I’d go for.”

I considered it for a bit, trying to be reasonable about his suggestion and in the end I figured there was nothing to lose. Spontaneity wasn’t exactly my forte, but there was really only one viable option for me.

“I don’t really know…” I uttered, my courage on its way to Hawaii at this point.

And yet his face only fell for a second. It could have sworn there was a tiny sigh, but he regained confidence soon after.

“Okay, cutie pie, in case you feel like talking to me again, I will give you my number. You have a phone, don’t you?” he enquired while scribbling a number onto a piece of paper he had just produced out of his jeans pocket.   
  
When I gave a slow nod, he gently placed the note in my hand and beamed at me again. “Just text me, if you don’t like to talk in person, I’m fine with whichever you prefer. And if you don’t want to contact me that’s also fine. I just don’t want to regret not having tried everything I could to get to know you.” he explained and threw a glance at the display to check for the next stop.

“Aish, that one is mine… Well, nice meeting you again, cutie pie. Hope you have a great day and see you around, I guess!”

He was up and on his way, my eyes following him instinctively, accidentally getting a very thorough look at his butt, but I wasn’t even ready to give up this view just yet when he cleared his voice to attract my attention. I snapped out of it and blushed immediately as I spotted his proud smirk.

“Enjoying the view, I hope?” he wondered, sending me an unsuccessful wink on his way out.

As soon as the doors closed, I was smiling to myself, replaying all that had happened in my head as I looked at the piece of paper in my hand. There were his number and the words ‘pantless underground guy’ written on it.


	3. ~Third Day~

 

I had been thinking about him all week, dismissing the idea of calling him more often than not, but I still hadn’t had the courage to throw his number away.

So here I was, sitting on my sofa one fine evening- okay, know what? Cross that out. I was flailing on it, staring at my ceiling as if it held all the answers that I needed to solve this mess I had gotten myself into.

Sadly my wallpaper hadn’t learnt to talk yet, so I growled to myself in a mixture of despair and frustration before I reached for my mobile. I was about to call when I figured writing him a message first might be better.

Approximately twenty attempts later, I had finally managed to send something that sounded only a little awkward, so I went out to the convenience store to get some beer because I knew I’d go mad if I had to wait in my apartment.

When I returned; and let me assure you that I didn’t run home or anything; I immediately spotted the tiny light on my phone that signalled new messages.

The beer was dropped and I might have crossed the room quicker than I usually did, but that was definitely not because I was excited.

I told myself to relax and breathe normally again, forcing my body to walk over to the stereo to put on some music that usually put my mind at ease.

And once I had settled down on the sofa with a beer, I finally looked at his reply.

‘Hey cutie pie, glad you decided to contact me after all! Name’s Junho by the way, but I guess you already figured out that my real name isn’t pantless underground guy… Anyway, I was really going mad here, so I’m super happy that you texted me. Mind if I call you? I’d love to hear your voice.’

I read it again and again for the next five minutes or so until the letters lost meaning and my brain had fully wrapped around the fact that he seemed genuinely happy about my message. Only a handbreadth away from having a meltdown, I tapped the call button and felt how my heartbeat quickened with every ring of the phone.

Suddenly there was a click and someone picked up. I felt the urge to hang up immediately, but there was his voice, stopping me effortlessly: “Cutie pie, is that you?”

He sounded sleepy at first, so I apologised: “Hey, yes, sorry to text you so late. I hope I didn’t wake you up?” Then it hit me. “Wait a second, did you give your number to random people you met on the street or what?”

He chuckled softly at the notion and I felt silly for even considering it, but he took my mind off the awkwardness in no time. “I had just fallen asleep while watching something, so don’t worry. And no, cutie pie, as crazy as it may sound, I only gave it to you. You took a while to call me, though, so I had almost given up hope... And, uhm, can I be honest?”

I couldn’t help the feeling that he seemed hesitant all of a sudden. “Sure.”

“I have played with the idea of taking this underground line again just to try and find you. I guess I wouldn’t have tried to approach you again, but I wanted to see you once more. Weird, huh?”

Normal people might have assured him that it wasn’t weird and that he was probably just developing a crush on me, but since I didn’t exactly consider myself normal, I ignored my brain to mouth filter and went with the truth: “A little, yes. Some might call that stalking, but I’m kind of glad you considered doing it. I wasn’t exactly sure I would call you to be honest. So that was my last hope…”

Surprisingly enough, he did neither hang up nor sound outraged by the way I had put it. “You know what? I’m intrigued by your honesty. And is it safe to assume that this feeling isn’t one-sided? The attraction, I mean.”

“I dare say it isn't, even if I failed repeatedly at showing it. And you’re the first person to tell me you like this honesty. Not even my best friend is particularly fond of it.”

He clicked his tongue in response, an audible smile in his voice when he continued: “I can see that most people might have a problem with it, but I’m more laid back.”

“Who would have guessed… The pantless underground ride certainly wasn’t a sign.” I retorted dryly and couldn’t suppress a tiny grin.

“Oh my god, THAT gave me away? And here I was, thinking it might have been the flirting… Speaking of, cutie pie, I really adore that cute grin of yours. It’s a pity I can’t see you right now.”

My grin widened automatically, far too intrigued by how casually I could talk to him despite only knowing him for mere minutes. “Don’t be silly, it’s neither cute nor adorable. And I really hope that isn’t all you’ve got up your sleeve in order to lure me in.”

“Oh babe, trust me, I haven’t even started.”

“Already calling me babe, eh? You really are a ruthless bastard when it comes to conquering people…”

“Oh nononono, you don’t get to call me ruthless when I’m only resorting to these names because you haven’t told me your actual name yet. Besides, I’m not trying to conquer anyone. I’m merely attempting to charm you with my incredibly good looks and my sense of humour. As for my assets, I have no doubt they already convinced you, eh? You seemed to like them a lot last time you saw them.”

I burst out into laughter at his incredible display of self-confidence but saw no reason to deny any of the allegations. “As much as I want to deny that, I simply can’t. That butt of yours really is a miracle. As for the charming, though…”

“Did it work?” he wondered, a certain cheekiness in his voice.

“Would I have called you if it hadn’t worked?”

“Obviously not, so that’s that. And now that we’ve established that you’re currently in the process of falling head over heels in love with me, please do enlighten me as to how I shall refer to my future boyfriend when I introduce him to my parents.”

I burst into another laughing fit, hearing how he joined in as well before he pointed out breathlessly: “I’m kidding, of course. No talk of falling in love yet or any of that other nonsense.”

“Aw, really? And here I was, already ordering our rings and planning the details of our wedding. Too bad.” I cooed in fake disappointment, making him laugh again.

“That will have to wait a little, I fear. I would, however, love to know who to refer to when I’m talking to my friends about you.”

I gasped, certainly not expecting that revelation yet. “Did you mention me already?”

“Only said I met someone really cute on the underground two weeks ago and that I met him again last week. And there’s a chance I have mentioned how he just wouldn’t stop running through my head these days… But you don’t know that from me if someone asks.”

“Oh really now? I will make sure to hide the source of this info, don’t worry. But who is this guy who’s trying to steal you from me? I need to know who I’m competing with in order to beat them.”

He chuckled and it was the most heartwarming sound I had heard in weeks. “He’s quite tall and lean. Not too thin, but not too muscular either. He has a surprisingly strong grip and his thighs are no joke. Oh, and you wouldn’t know since you haven’t seen him, but his smile, I swear, it’s made of unicorn tears and cotton candy. He looks rather serious and unapproachable at first, but as soon as that smile appears there’s no way you’re not falling for him. I really wish you good luck with that kind of competition. It will be a hard fight.”

A somewhat self-satisfied smirk appeared on my face while he talked, but I wasn’t so sure my looks would be able to make up for my strange personality on the long run. Still, I really wanted to get to know him better, so I played along.

“Okay Junho, listen. If you see this guy again, tell him you already belong to Hwang Chansung. He’s a really big guy and nobody in their right mind should want to get on his bad side.”

“Say that again, please.”

“He’s a big guy nobody wants to mess with?”

He snorted but continued with a soft voice full of awe: “No, I mean my name. Please say it again.”

“Junho.” He made a sound of approval. “Jun-ho.” An almost purr of his made me repeat it more breathy: “Mh, Jun-ho…” The sound that came through the speaker was almost a moan and I would be lying if I claimed not to be a tiny bit proud of the effect I had on him.

“When exactly did this call turn from a simple first call into a sex hotline anyway, Chan-sung-ah?” he uttered back in a low voice and I swear it sent shivers down my spine. I had not been prepared for this yet, so I cursed under my breath which made him laugh.

“I’m just joking, Channie. But I really love to hear you saying my name…”

“I noticed that…” I trailed off, a little on the playful side, but not really knowing where to go from here.

We remained silent for a while, just the music from my stereo playing in the background as we listened to each other breathe.

“Channie?”

“Hm?”

“Is that Daft Punk I’m hearing in the background?”

“Yeah. Two of my favourite artists.”

“Favourite song?”

“Aish, do you have any idea how hard it is to pick just one?” I complained, hearing him chuckle.

“I’m very much aware of that, yes. So have you listened to the latest album yet? They’re coming here for a concert and I’d really love to go, but my friends aren’t really into them enough to come with me.”

“Are you asking me out? On a date? To see one of my absolute favourite acts? How the heck am I even supposed to say no?” I laughed and felt my heart beating faster.

“I honestly can’t think of a reason to decline this invitation, but it seemed like the honourable thing to give you a choice.” he replied jokingly.

And I simply couldn’t find it in me to say no. So I sat up straight, throwing a glance at my stereo to thank the gods for the divine intervention before I started beaming brightly: “So considerate… When is the concert, pray tell? I need to make sure I’m free that night.”

“This weekend. Saturday at 9 pm to be exact. I already have the tickets, so don’t worry about that. And I’m free the entire day if you don’t have any plans and want to hang out or whatever…” he suggested, sounding a lot more reluctant towards the ending.

“I’d love to! Maybe we should have that coffee you invited me to after all and see what we feel like doing?”

“Sounds like a plan!” he agreed with more enthusiasm now. “Shall we meet at the underground stop?”

“Why not? Would noon be okay for you? We could have lunch first and discuss what else to do while we eat.”

I could picture the brightness of his smile effortlessly when I heard his response. “Perfect! I really can’t wait for Saturday.”

“The feeling is definitely mutual! But as much as I’d love to keep talking, I really have to go to bed now… I can call you tomorrow, though. If you want me to.”

He chuckled happily for a moment, clearing his voice afterwards: “Yes, please. I fear I will explode if I don’t hear from you before Saturday. Just call me whenever you get off work, okay?”

“I will!” I promised enthusiastically and halted for a moment, realising what I had been about to say.

He broke the silence after thirty seconds or so, pulling me out of my thoughts: “Channie, are you still there?”

“Ye-yes, sorry, got lost in my thoughts…”

“Don’t apologise, okay? It’s probably strange to call someone you don’t know and… anyway, I’m really really glad you did! Sweet dreams, Sungsung, hope to see you in mine.”

“It is a little unusual for me, but I’m also glad I did! And same to you! Can’t wait for Saturday, Junho.” I blabbered, but regained some composure towards the end, uttering his name in what I deemed a sensual tone.

“You better hang up before I decide to visit you because of your teasing, Channie!” he threatened me playfully and added in a much softer voice: “Miss you already…”

I couldn’t help but feel like pulling him into an embrace in that moment, but since there was no way, I settled for doing something that was completely unlike my usual self: “This one’s for you, Junho. Think of me while you sleep.” Then I sent an air kiss in the direction of the microphone and hung up.

I had a minor breakdown afterwards, thinking about every possible reaction he might have had but finally figuring that it was out of my hands for the time being. So I paced between kitchen and living room for a while, trying to calm myself enough to go to bed.

 


	4. ~Fourth Day~

When I woke up in the morning, it was with a start. I hadn’t had dreams like that in years, but for some reason Junho had really decided to show up in last night’s and now I had a huge problem.

Once I had gotten rid of it, my day went by as usual. Well, with the exception of my thoughts randomly running off to revisit the all too vivid images I had dreamt about earlier.

Not like I wanted to think about them actively, but it’s quite hard to forget them when they’ve taken place in your workspace.

You can probably imagine how agitated I was all freaking day until I went home.

A shower didn’t help, and neither did my supper, much to my dismay. To think that even food, my loyal companion throughout my entire life, was unable to provide me with an ample distraction from this devil with an angel’s face…

Junho was truly something else. And so I gave up the fight and settled for approaching the problem head on.

That’s how I found myself pacing up and down in front of my balcony while I waited for him to pick up his phone.

“Sungsung! Hi, didn’t expect you to call so earl-”

“I’ve dreamt about you, Junho.” I interrupted him, voice dead serious.

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” he asked cautiously.

“I woke up with the most annoying hard-on I’ve had in years…” I admitted, too disappointed in myself to care that it might be too early for such topics.

And he snorted in response: “Okay, that was certainly not what I expected, but I’ll take it as a compliment, I guess.”

I harrumphed and stopped, staring through my window at the dusk. “Why are you so calm about an almost stranger telling you these things?”

With a soft chuckle he explained: “Maybe I was secretly hoping for such a reaction?”

“Can’t deny that it sounds like something you would do, pantless underground guy.” I admitted with a snort and relaxed a little.

“Guilty as charged. But do tell me what happened in this dream, Sungsung.”

I was surprised by the curiosity but decided to tell him anyway. Somehow he made me feel that I didn’t have to worry about being ashamed about anything and that was an incredibly amazing feeling.

“I was at work, just doing my thing when you showed up at the front desk. You said you had a delivery for me, but it had to be delivered in person, so the secretary sent you over to my office and I wasn’t even paying attention to you until you had entered and closed the door behind you. By the time I looked up, you were already locking the door and shutting the blinds. And when you turned back to see me, half of your uniform was unbuttoned and sliding down your arms and chest. I don’t have to tell you how you smirked at me, do I?”

“Oh no, I know exactly how that looks. Hope it had the effect I desired?”

“Let’s just say you were all up in my business in no time. I didn’t even have a chance to stand up before you were on my desk, dancing for me as you undressed. And sadly, I can’t say I put up a fight when you asked me to strip you of your underwear.”

His voice sounded far too sultry when he responded: “I certainly like where this is going. Tell me more, Sungsung.”

The images reappeared behind my eyelids when I closed them, much more vivid because of his voice. “You didn’t even let me undress before you pulled me up from my chair and into your arms. Somehow you managed to snog my brains out while you cleared off the desk and a moment later you were stroking my cock and telling me to fuck you. I-” I hesitated, wondering if I had said too much.

“You did it, didn’t you?” he suggested, tone non-committal.

And I muttered in a slightly guilt-ridden voice: “Yes.”

His audible smirk had returned when he replied: “Hey, Sungsung, I’m not blaming you, okay? That does indeed sound like something I would do and I have to admit that I’m very intrigued by this scenario you came up with. It’s actually something I always wanted to try one day...”

“I just-”

“Listen, cutie pie. You liked it, didn’t you? The events in your dream and what they did to your body?”

“Are you kidding me? It was mindblowing. I’m just a little unsettled by the fact that we’ve only seen each other in person exactly how many times? Twice? It’s far too early for sex dreams…”

He cleared his voice then, leaving a pause for dramatic effect. “Maybe this is the right time to admit that I’ve dreamt about an alternative ending of our first meeting the night after it happened. Trust me, you were certainly very civil to place your scene somewhere more private. In mine, you were taking me right in the middle of the compartment, totally uncaring about everyone around us.”

“WHAT THE HECK?!”

“Yeah. And gosh, it was so good. If anything, the shocked stares only added to the thrill.”

“Fuck, Junho, stop!”

“Why?” he wondered, a playful but calculated curiosity in his tone.

“I- Fuck, I swear I’m not into public sex, but this image is doing things to me…” I murmured, guilt creeping up on me while I stared down at my cock in a mixture of embarrassment and wonder. How could he possibly have such an effect on me?  

“Well, cutie pie, it’s just us two right now. Go ahead and help yourself.”

I gasped in shock, definitely having learnt to expect something along these lines from him by now, but it was still different to hear him say it.

“You want me to jerk off while I’m on the phone with you.” It was definitely not a question but a statement.

“If you want to put it like that, yes. I’m actively encouraging it, in fact. I mean, we took step one towards phone sex last night. Might as well go all the way if you’re up for it…”

A million and one thoughts raced through my mind during that moment, most of them screaming yes, but there were doubts and worries, too. I didn’t know him, yet I felt like I did. What was there to lose anyway? He had no idea where I lived or any other means of blackmailing me, so I told myself to be crazy for once in my life.

“Where are you right now?” I asked him, my voice surprisingly firm and deep.

“On my balcony, looking at the city lights.” he played along, a soft chuckle accompanying his words.

“And what are you wearing?”

“Nothing but a blanket that I’ve wrapped myself in.”

The image of him standing there in front of the setting sun felt like I had walked into another dream, making me long for a chance to see him in person again. “I’m gazing at your back from inside, wondering whether to disturb you or enjoy the beautiful sight a moment longer. But I settle for following you when I see you shiver because of a chilly breeze. I’m crossing the distance between us in a rush, but hesitate for a moment before I make myself known.”

He snorted and teased: “Why would you? I already heard you anyway, baby bear. Just come here.”

With a grin, I settled down on my sofa and continued: “ I’m stepping closer until my breath caresses your neck and gives you gooseflesh. You grace my ears with the tiniest laugh as my arms embrace you and come to rest around your waist…” I ended with a smile, the image making me feel surprisingly comfortable.

“‘I missed you, Channie. Where have you been all day?’ I complain, taking your hands with my own and pulling you closer against my backside.” he went on, voice turning mischievous.

“‘I’ve been dreaming about you, but realised that the real thing is so much better…’ I admit and my hands make their way beneath your blanket, caressing your skin until you’re almost turning into clay in my hands.”

“‘ _Mmh, feels so good… But I need more, Sungsung._ ’”

Well, what can I say? He had put my thoughts into words and for once I felt incredibly daring. It was safe to assume that my brain was no longer able to make rational decisions since it was far too occupied with thoughts about him. So I spat out: “Okay, I have a crazy idea.”

He laughed for a moment: “Why did I feel like you might say that? But please elaborate, cutie pie.”

“Let’s say I were to get my ass off my sofa right this very moment and reaching for my jacket and keys in order to make my way over to your place…”

“If you were to do that, I’d declare you utterly nuts but I love the idea regardless. How soon can you be here?” he wanted to know, telling me his address right after.

“Give me fifteen minutes! Hanging up now.” I told him and speed-walked out of the door.

Exactly fourteen minutes and two seconds later I found myself standing in front of apartment no. 1102, trying to calm down a little but failing miserably. The door was open as promised and I took a deep breath and stepped in.

I needed a moment to figure out where to go, but there was a soft breeze coming from the room in front of me, so I ignored all the rest and put one foot in front of the other repeatedly, making my way into the unknown territory.

Halfway into the darkened room I had to stop, though, unable to get over his silhouette standing there, hair aglow with the last rays of sunlight.

I watched him silently from behind the glass, marvelling at his beauty until I noticed how he moved and held something to his ear. It made sense a second later when my phone rang, but I didn’t dare pick it up. I had meant to be brave and yet I was standing there like a nervous teenager, watching him from afar.

“I know you’re already here, Sungsung. Please come out. I’m cold and need someone’s warmth.” he pleaded with a hint of despair in his tone, eyes still looking into the distance, though.

‘Courage, Chansung. You can do this. You already came all the way here just to see him, so don’t be a dick and do it.’ I repeated my mantra one last time before I stepped outside and walked up to him slowly, praying to all the gods that my body wouldn’t do anything weird or embarrassing.

“Hey.” I uttered, forcing myself to go through with my plan, so I wrapped my arms around his waist carefully, resting my chin on his shoulder.

“Hey.” he echoed, his voice like velvet on naked skin, sending shivers down my spine. His hands were still holding onto the balustrade, but when I took a closer look I noticed how hard he was grabbing it, his knuckles almost white with the pressure.

I loosened my embrace in shock, fearing I had done something he didn’t want me to do, but when my hands were almost gone he grabbed my wrists in a flash, pulling them back into place with determination. “No, please don’t. I’m just trying to calm down. Don’t want to scare you by being overly excited, Channie.” he explained with a sigh, gradually relaxing in my arms.

I honestly didn’t know what to say, so I remained silent, just nodding and putting my chin back onto his shoulder.

We remained in this position until I felt how his breathing had slowed down again and all the tension was gone. Only then did he turn his head enough to look at me and send me the cutest smile. “I’m really glad you decided to come over. Wouldn’t have thought you’d go through with it, though.”

“Trust me, I’m just as surprised about that as you are.” I admitted and lowered my gaze, feeling how the blood rushed to my cheeks.

My eyes widened in surprise when his lips connected with my left cheek for a split second and I didn’t even dare to look at him, not knowing what I might do.

“Tell me, Channie, how can a grown man like you be so incredibly cute?” That had struck a nerve, though, so I threw him a disbelieving look, my irritation melting away, however, when he beamed at me like the sun.

“Just look into the mirror, will you? You’re a fucking ray of sunshine compared to what I’m capable of.”

That sent him into a laughing fit which turned out to be contagious after a while of admiring the sight of him chuckling.

I always tried to hide my laughter since I hated it. To me, it sounded loud and annoying, and most people I’ve been close to in my life never grew tired of pointing out how weird it sounded to their ears as well. So I had learnt to keep it down, but I stood no chance against this paragon of happiness I held in my arms in that very moment.

It started slowly, bubbling up in my chest as he was already tearing up and getting short of breath. I joined in with a soft giggle, but the longer I listened to him, the louder my own laughter got until we were both unable to stop, constantly bursting out again when we looked at each other.

No idea how long it lasted, but at some point a neighbour from the apartment above his had stepped onto her own balcony to complain about the volume of our escapades. She ranted and raved about our audacity to be so loud at such an ungodly hour and Junho apologised halfheartedly before he grabbed my hand and pulled me back inside, shutting the door behind us.

“Silly old hag, that one. Always complains about high volumes when she’s the one who has her TV at maximum volume at all times…” he muttered angrily under his breath, still sounding a little bit on the wheezing side, but then he stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me, so I almost crashed into him.

“Your laughter.”

My heart stopped and I broke out into a cold sweat. He’d make fun of me any second now-

“It’s the weirdest but most heartwarming laughter I have ever heard in my life.”

Here we go again with the same old insults, the same feeling of insecurity… Wait, wait, wait! What?!

“Did you hit your head on the door frame or something?”

He tilted his head and blinked at me: “Eh? Why would you think that?”

“Because my laughter sounds idiotic?” I suggested, brows knitted in irritation.

“Well, no? Whoever told you that is definitely out of their mind. Can’t speak for everyone, of course, but to me it’s really wonderful and suits you perfectly.” he retorted with a hint of stubbornness.

I shook my head repeatedly, crossing my arms in front of my chest. “You’re making fun of me, right? Nobody ever liked it.”

There was an angry grumble in his throat when he straightened his back and rose up to his full height. He was still smaller than me, but I have to admit his aura impressed me nonetheless.

“I have no idea who the other people in your life were, but I mean every word I say, okay? I love it. It’s unique and it’s perfect for you. And while I’m not sure you’re someone who attracts everyone’s attention immediately, you certainly had mine the second I spotted you for the first time, Chansung.”

“Oh come on, stop shitting me. I’m not that special.”

His voice rose and an angry sparkle appeared in his eyes: “Listen to me. I have no obligation to say these things-”

“You’re trying to get into my pants, aren’t you? Charming someone with honeyed words usually does the trick-” Trust my fucking insecurity to ruin things with inappropriate accuses.

“So what if I want to fuck you some day?! Right now this isn’t about sex, Chan. I’m trying to tell you that you are attractive in so many other ways, too. Your smile, your voice, your sense of humour, your eyes... Fuck it, just you standing there casually is enough to take my breath away.” he pointed out, voice a little shaky with annoyance.   
“Goddammit, do you have any idea how desirable you are? It’s frustrating to fall for someone who obviously doesn’t have an inkling about their true worth. I don’t want you to second-guess everything I say all the time. Do you know why? Because you should be aware that you’re not the sum of what other people think about you. Even if things shouldn’t work out between us, I really hope you’ll realise that some day and accept yourself the way you are.” he grumbled and turned around, crossing the room with rapid strides. It wouldn’t have surprised me to see him throw up his hands in exasperation, but he didn’t go to such dramatic lengths.

He stopped at the door to the hallway, though, sending me an angry look. “Regardless of everything I just said, you’re still welcome to join me in the kitchen.”

With that, he was gone and I was left to my own thoughts for a moment. “What the fuck was that just now?” I wondered aloud, my mind running a mile a minute as I tried to process everything he had just thrown into my face. And as much as it hurt to admit this, he was right. I knew it, but doing something about these internalised self-doubts was an entirely different thing.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realise it at first when something furry brushed against my legs repeatedly. Only when it started to paw my toes playfully did I snap out of my stupor and spotted the black kitten at my feet.

It shied away when I squatted down to greet it, but came back curiously soon after, looking at me with its vibrant yellow eyes in a sea of the softest black fur.

“Hello, little cutie. Sorry, I didn’t say hi to you before.”

The kitten sniffed on my hand with caution, but headbutted it a moment later, brushing up against it with the faintest purr.

I couldn’t help but smile and pet it, ruffling the soft fur behind its ears until it rolled on its back and played with my fingertips. The little ball of fur had me distracted for a couple of minutes, but then I recalled Junho’s last words and decided to follow him, my new-found friend accompanying me on my journey to the kitchen.

We arrived eventually, the kitten rushing ahead of me when it heard Junho shaking the container of food.

He had knelt down to feed it, giving it a few loving strokes before he stood up again to face me with a much more relaxed expression. “You’ve made friends with her already, huh?”

I beamed happily, eyes on her for a moment and I’m pretty sure he saw how much I adored the little one already because he chuckled softly and gestured in the direction of the table then. “Come on, sit down, please. Anything to drink? Have you had supper yet?”

I nodded and took a seat, my posture still a little stiff, though, which made him roll his eyes and smile at me with a hint of disapproval. “Sungsung, this is not an interrogation and you don’t have to impress me, okay? Just get comfortable. Feel at home. And speak to me, please.”

“Sorry, I’m just not used to visiting other people’s places. Outside of my friend’s homes and that of my parents, I mean.”

“Oh dear. Well, okay, here are all the rules you need to keep in mind in my home:  
1) As long as you don’t hurt any of the inhabitants, you’re allowed to do whatever you feel like doing.   
2) No getting the owner into trouble that I wouldn’t get myself into in the first place.   
3) Always respect my babies and treat them like they’re the most precious things on the entire planet.  
4) You’re welcome here at any time, regardless of the circumstances of your visit.   
5) You’re free to go wherever you like, but personal records and such are off limits. Apart from that I don’t mind sharing food or anything else with you.”

“Do you really mean that? You don’t even know me enough to have such a level of trust. And when you say 'babies', how many are there?”

He leaned against the counter and sent me a thorough look. “Yes, I mean it. And yes, I don’t really know you yet. But my intuition tells me that I can trust you and it’s usually right. As for the kids… there’s two of them. You’ve already met Wollie, the younger one. And Johnny was playing in the bathtub last time I saw him.”

I was still feeling a little uneasy about the certainty with which he had let me into his home and given me all these permissions. Not like I planned to abuse them, but this kind of trust was new to me and I always had a hard time getting used to new things. But I would try for him.

“So… two cats, huh?”

He shrugged and tilted his head a little: “What can I say? I’m a bit of a cat myself, so it seemed like a good idea. And I haven’t regretted it yet, despite a handful of sleepless nights and more scratch marks than I can count anymore. I really wouldn’t want to miss them for the world.”

His smile told me how much he loved them and if anything, he looked even more alluring because of it. People who love animals are usually the ones you want to get close to because there’s a certain  kindness to them. And he definitely didn’t strike me as an exception to this rule.

“It’s a little strange, though…” he mused, eyes following the black kitten as she walked over to the table to brush around my calves again.

“What is?”

“Wollie is usually a lot more reserved with people she doesn’t know. Yet she seems to love you a lot already. Do you have any pets yourself?”

I lowered my gaze, trying to hide my goofy smile: “I love all kinds of animals, maybe that’s why. And I had a cat when I was living with my parents, but when I moved out he stayed with them.”

He had walked over while I talked, standing next to me now, his hand on my cheek, making me look up at him. “Please don’t hide your smile, Channie… You look so beautiful when you smile like that.”

His voice had trailed off towards the end, the air between us charged and our eyes unable to break their contact. It didn’t help that his hand was still cupping my cheek. But in a moment of clarity or utter foolishness,  whichever you deem the most appropriate name for it, I peeked at his lips, leaning in to touch them with mine.

I didn’t get far, though, because there was a black shadow jumping right onto the table and making its way onto my shoulder.

The spell was broken immediately, Junho moving away from me. Both, him and me, stared at the black kitten that had now laid down on my left shoulder, looking back at us as if she couldn’t hurt a fly.

Junho only snorted at her antics and rolled his eyes, shrugging a little as he patted her head gently. “I forgot how jealous she gets when I try to take something away that she considers hers… Sorry to break it to you, Channie, but I think she has decided to keep you.”

He sent me a wink which made me giggle and brush my jaw against her, my eyes on him, though. “I guess this could have gone worse.”

“Oh yeah, definitely. But Wol-ah, you’ll have to share Channie with your daddy. I spotted him first, okay?” he pointed out as he kissed her head to which she responded with the tiniest hiss.

“Tsk, this little brat. Anyway, Channie, do you think you’ll be okay here for a moment? Since Wollie has already declared you a member of the family, I might as well go and find the other little shit to introduce you two.”

I winked at him and smiled brightly. “ Sure, go ahead. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Great! I’ll be quick.” he promised and almost skipped out of sight.

When I threw a glance back at Wollie, she sent me a most serious look that made me feel as if she could see right through me. “You don’t have to worry about anything, Wol-ah. My intentions with your daddy are good, I swear.”

The sound she made in response might have been the cat equivalent of a sigh, but then she looked away and hit my cheek with her tail a couple of times.

A moment later I heard Junho’s footsteps getting closer again, so I turned my head to look back at the door, only to be greeted by the sight of him with a gorgeous Bengal kitten in his arms and the brightest smile on his face.

“Lovely moustache you have there, Channie.” he joked. Only then did I realise that Wollie had put her tail around my face and seemed very satisfied with her little stunt.

“She loves to do that, so take it as a good sign, okay? Oh, and this handsome little guy here is Johnny. Say hi to Channie, my boy.” he continued and came close enough with the kitten so I could pet its head.

“Hi, Johnny, what a cute baby you are.” I uttered and ruffled his fur softly while he stared at me with his big green eyes.

“You really have a thing with animals it seems. They’re usually extremely skittish, even around me…”

I shrugged only a little in an attempt not to scare Wollie, but she looked at me in surprise anyway.

“Sorry, baby.” I apologised and threw a glance at Junho. “Maybe it’s your temper. You seem to be a little more on the wild side. No offense.”

“None taken. And you’ve got a point there... Anyway, did you eat yet? You didn’t really give me an answer earlier.”

I smiled apologetically and nodded. “I have, sorry. But please go ahead, I don’t want you to go hungry because of me.”

He flashed me a lopsided smirk and put Johnny on the ground afterwards, casually discarding his blanket as well.

I honestly expected to see him naked beneath it when I recalled our phone call earlier, but contrary to my expectation he was wearing boxer briefs.

“You lying liar.” I snorted, brow raised at him in amusement.

He turned around with the most innocent face he could muster but still couldn’t hide the mischief in his eyes: “Would have liked that, wouldn’t you? Sorry to disappoint you, babe. But I wanted to give us a chance to relive the ‘pantless underground guy meets cutie pie’ scene. Besides, sometimes it’s better to leave some room for the imagination, right?” he concluded with a wink and made his way to the cooker.

I watched him move, only noticing Wollie’s tail hitting my ear somewhere at the back of my mind. The view distracted me enough to miss his next question, so he turned around to smile at me knowingly and moved in a much more sensual way just to tease me. “Eyes up here, darling… You’re really not hungry anymore?”

I had to swallow the ‘not for food at least’ before I shook my head softly. “Not really, no…”

He pouted in response, turning back to the counter. “It’s just that I don’t like eating alone.”

His tone struck something in me that made me feel how much it meant to him that I joined him while eating, so I reconsidered. “Well, I guess there’s some room for a bite or two left.”

His eyes gleamed so excitedly when he turned around that I couldn’t help but beam right back at him. “Need some help there, mister?”

He nodded fervently, so I tried to take Wollie off, but since she refused to leave and sank her claws into my shoulder instead, I decided to take her along as I made my way over to Junho. “She decided to observe our cooking, hope that’s okay with you?”

He pulled a face when he glanced at her but leaned in to place a kiss on her head anyway, grinning sheepishly when he saw how I tried to keep a straight face despite her clawing. “I’m sorry about that, Channie. Didn’t really expect her to be that possessive. Although, I would probably do the same thing, if I were her and could get away with it…”

“Tsk, I bet you would, yeah.” I agreed and slapped his ass, averting my gaze right after, since I couldn’t believe I had done that.

Neither of us said a word for a while, Junho moving around the pot aimlessly while I played with my belt loops.

“Eh, so, ramyeon?” he uttered, his voice suddenly a lot deeper and it was right at that moment that Wollie decided to desert her spot and slid down my back, making me yelp in pain.

Junho turned to me immediately, brows furrowed in worry and hands carefully reaching for my back to check on the scratch marks. “Oh god, I’m so sorry, Channie, please let me see that.”  

He didn’t really wait for an answer before my shirt was gone and his fingertips were tracing the wounds with the utmost care. “Dammit, Wollie, not cool! They’re not too deep, but I’ll put on some disinfectant just in case....”

He was gone a second later, leaving me alone with the kittens who were staring at me from a corner as if they wanted to say: “That’s what you get for flirting with our dad so shamelessly.”

I apologised and bowed to them, urging them to forgive my thoughtless action, but just at that moment Junho returned and I blushed because of the strange scene he walked in on. “I, eh…”

He ignored it gracefully and crossed the distance between us, pushing me towards the counter to hold onto it while he took care of the wounds. “I’m really incredibly sorry about that, Channie. Can I…”

“Sh, it’s okay, Junho. I’ve had much worse than those. Don’t worry about it, please.”

His voice sounded really distraught when he tried to object: “But this shouldn’t have happened. Especially not the first time you came here. Maybe we shouldn’t have been so rash.”

I turned around and caught his wrists with my hands, guiding them behind my back as gently as possible. “Listen, Junho. I’m beyond delighted that you allowed me to visit you here. It still feels surreal to have you right in front of me when I was only able to picture you in my mind a couple of hours ago. I-”

“Do you really not regret it?”

I shook my head stubbornly, wrapping my arms around his waist: “It was the best decision I made all week. Okay, probably second best after the one to actually call you. My point being that I’m incredibly happy right now.” I concluded with a somewhat foolish grin, waiting for his response.

“You sap!” he laughed but didn’t let go of me. On the contrary, he put down the disinfectant and cotton ball he had used and cupped my face instead.

“What can I say… guilty as charged. And, uhm, may I…?” I muttered, slowly leaning in.

“Do what?” he asked, meeting me halfway, eyes fixed on my lips.

“Kiss you?” I breathed against his lips, my pulse quickening until I heard my blood rushing in my ears.

The smile he showed me was almost a cat-like one, full of pride but also pleased beyond measure: “Do it already. I’ve been waiting for this moment since day one.”

I didn’t need to be asked twice, closing the distance even before the last sounds had passed his lips entirely. The kiss was soft and slow, nowhere near deep and passionate, but definitely filled with emotions.

At some point, he deepened it, though, probably craving for more if his legs around my hips were anything to judge by.

And I responded just as energetically, grabbing his butt and putting him down on the counter while my fingers raked his lower back. The little sounds he made drove me crazy and I really couldn’t help but thank the gods for giving me enough courage to come here after all.

I have no idea how long we kissed, but at some point his stomach growled and made me chuckle.

“I guess you’re really hungry, huh? Let me just fix this so you can eat.” I suggested and pressed another quick kiss to his lips.

“No please, you’re my guest, Channie! Let me do that.” he tried to argue, but I winked at him and continued.

“It’s fine. Ramyeon are my specialty. Just consider it a thank you for allowing me to be here.”

“But-”

“No buts, babe. You won’t regret it.”

He only responded with a sigh and changed his position on the counter after a while, squatting on it like an owl and watching me intently.

I tried to ignore it as long as possible, but when he tilted his head and blinked at me repeatedly, I broke into a laughing fit that made him blink at me even more.

“Channie? What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry, it’s just-” I wanted to explain, but was too out of breath, so I had to look away for a moment, only snorting again when I looked back at him and his slightly confused smile. By then my eyes were tearing up and I gave up on trying to keep it together. I broke down in another fit of giggles, holding onto the edge of the counter for dear life.

Needless to say that I failed and sank to my knees, holding my stomach because it was starting to hurt. Another glance up at his now worried look in the owl-like position and I was rolling on the floor, my ability to human gone with the wind.

“Chansung, what the heck is going on?!” he demanded to know, but since I was unable to breathe normally, let alone form complete sentences, I only giggled incoherently: “Owhowhowhowl…”

It was surprising that he hadn’t called the authorities yet, but I really couldn’t care less at this point. My lungs were burning with the lack of oxygen and I had curled into a ball in order to regain some sort of control over my body, so I only noticed his presence when he crashed down on top of me, a pained moan accompanied by a string of curses breaking through to me eventually.

His hands were on my wrists a second later, forcing them away from my face while he tried to figure out what the heck was wrong with me. “Chansung! What is going on?! You’re freaking me out!”

I saw the worry in his eyes and felt incredibly bad because of it, but my breathing was still not back to normal, so I gasped a few times, face still stretched into a stupid grin. My voice was raspier than I had ever heard it, but finally some words came out: “I… sorry-” I paused again, gulping to get rid of the dry throat. “You looked like an owl.”

He went still as a stick, fingers digging into my chest then while he gave me the most unamused look imaginable. My forehead was creased because of the dull pain in my chest, but I hadn’t shaken off the smile entirely.

“You scared me.” he admitted, toneless at first, but when he repeated it with more emphasis, his eyes went glassy and I swear I saw his bottom lip tremble. “You fucking scared me, Chansung.”

“I’m really sorry.”  I mouthed, finally fully aware of the extent of his fear and feeling even worse because I was the reason for it. So I reached out hesitantly, dreading he would reject my attempt to make it up to him. But I had worried in vain, since he leaned into the touch immediately, pressing a soft kiss against the heel of my hand as he looked at me with sadness in his eyes.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded reassuringly and brushed my thumb along his bottom lip. “Are you?”

He threw a quick glance towards his knees that had collided with the ground earlier but shrugged it off. “Probably a bruise, but that’s nothing.”

I sighed in relief and struggled to sit up again, leaning my forehead against his once I had succeeded, my arms loosely draped around his neck. “I really didn’t mean to scare you there, Junho. You were just looking so funny that something in me snapped.”

I deserved the eye-roll he sent my way, but the tiny kiss he placed on the tip of my nose afterwards more than made up for it. “Just give me a warning next time, okay? I honestly thought you had a seizure or something…”

“Will do, I promise.”

“Oh, and I still haven’t gotten a taste of your famous ramyeon, mister master chef.” he remarked with a teasing grin and pinched my left nipple.

“Yah, that hurt!” I complained in shock.

“It was supposed to!” he responded with a chuckle and pecked my lips before he wriggled his way out of my embrace and pulled me up again. “Please feed me, mama bird.”

“I’ll feed you well, Junhoot. Mama bird, my ass…” I murmured as I made my way back to the cooker to continue. What I didn’t expect were a pair of arms wrapping around my waist, though, followed by a chin being placed on my shoulder.

“Feeling cuddly, are we?”

“I’ve  given up my blanket and you looked like a cuddly bear…” he pointed out stubbornly, probably pouting and that made me smile once again.

At this rate, I’d grow a sixpack on my cheeks from all the smiling around him, but it was honestly more of a blessing than a curse.

Having him around made me feel completely at peace for the first time in years, so I prepared the food without further ado, hoping to give some of the joy he had given me back to him.

“Junho? It’s done.”

He grumbled a little, obviously not very keen to give up his position, but he complied eventually and sat down next to me, a steaming bowl of ramyeon in front of him.

I waited for him to take the first bite before I dug in as well, delighted by his surprised face.

“Fuck, I honestly didn’t expect them to be THAT good, Channie. I hope you’re aware that you’re not getting away from me anytime soon.”

I sent him a wink and shrugged nonchalantly. “Maybe that was my secret plan after all, eh?”

“I fear you’ll get the occasional ramyeon call instead of booty calls, babe.” he quipped but was obviously not expecting my comeback.

“Wait till you’ve gotten a taste of my skills in bed, sweetheart. You might want to take back these words then…”

The silence that fell was almost deafening, the rush of blood in my ears and my quickened pulse probably loud enough for him to hear them too. I pretended to be relaxed, but it wasn’t very convincing.

“You know, I’m actually pretty sure I will regret having said this even without the taste. Everything about you has exceeded my expectations so far, so I’m looking forward to how you’ll prove me wrong once again.”

I sent him a smirk and slid my hand into his neck before I uttered against his lips: “And prove you wrong I will.” The kiss that followed was a promise as much as it was a playful threat that left both of us lightheaded for a moment.

“Will you stay the night, Sungsung?”

And as much as I enjoyed teasing him, I was no longer able to, so I gave him a nod: “If you insist, Junho.”


	5. ~Fifth Day~ (Morning)

I arrived at work a little earlier than usual, but my best friend and colleague was already there, of course. Always on time and flipping out if you had the audacity to show up a second too late, it was no surprise that Wooyoung was our boss’ pet.

Well, taking into account that he and I were the only full-time employees, it was a fifty-fifty chance, but I’m trailing off.

So I walked out of the lift as usual, greeted the secretary at the front desk with a bright smile and gave her the coffee I always bought for everyone in the morning. She seemed even more delighted that day, but I could have had imagined it.

When I dropped by my boss’ office, I put down another cup on her desk and had a little talk with her about the upcoming features in the magazine before I made my way over to my own desk.

Wooyoung occupied the office next to mine and they were only separated by a huge window, so I waved hello once I had gotten rid of my things and took our cups to greet him by his door.

“How come you’re so early, Hwang Chansung?” he asked suspiciously, getting up and making his way over to me to reach for the cup I was holding out with a smirk.

“And what the fuck happened last night for you to look so radiant despite your notorious panda eyes? Did you get laid?”

“What? NO! I’m just excited about the new articles. Did noona brief you already?”

He gave me a once-over that made feel like my face was on fire, so I hurried to dispel his suspicions but failed of course. So much for having your best friend since childhood days as your colleague. He just knew me too well.

“Stop lying, Hwang. I can see it on your face. Something has happened and you will tell me what because I’m your bestest friend in the whole wide universe, right?” he tried to convince me with his silly aegyo. And sadly, I have never been good at resisting that, so I tried to run, but he caught me behind my desk and sat down on it casually, looking at his fingernails while he talked: “So let’s see… You’ve been acting completely inconspicuous. Unsuccessfully. Tried to run from me. Again, unsuccessfully. You have the most obvious smirk plastered on your face AND you’re telling me that you haven’t bedded anyone regardless of the evidence speaking against that. Now, what exactly DID happen, if it wasn’t sex?”

I cleared my voice, moving around some documents while I pointedly avoided his searching gaze.

“Chansung. My heart of hearts, my little baby bird and sun of my life, I can spend all day sitting here, elaborating all the scenarios I can think of OR you can make it easy for both of us and just spill the fucking beans.”

“I’ve met someone.” I admitted in the smallest voice, eyes burning holes into the documents and my ears feeling incredibly hot all of a sudden.

“I see. Now, was that so hard?” he pointed out motherly before he grabbed my shirt and pulled me close enough so our noses were touching. “WHO THE HECK IS IT AND WHY ARE YOU ONLY TELLING ME NOW?”

I looked at him like a deer in headlights, too dumbstruck to speak until he let go of me and pushed his hair back. “Sorry, got a little carried away there. So?”

I shook my head to clear my thoughts again, but as soon as I did Junho’s face materialised behind my closed eyelids and I buried my face in my arms with a sigh as deep as the ocean.

“I’m not even sure what to tell you. It’s not like a lot has happened yet, but it still feels HUGE, you know? We only met three weeks ago and haven’t really seen each other very often… It’s so confusing, ugh!”

He patted my head gently for a moment, clearly more concerned now. “And what happened to make you feel like it’s so meaningful?”

“Nothing really. We kissed, we cuddled, we flirted… I got scratched and somehow we ended up shirtless, but that’s basically it.”

“Scratched?”

“Two cats. The weirdest thing is that they already treated me like a permanent family member despite seeing me for the first time last night.”

He nodded in surprise, pondering for a moment. “That could have gone much worse, though… How did you meet her?”

I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair, only realising now how strange all of our meetings had been: “First time, I was in the underground on my way here. I told you about this pantless underground ride thing, right? Well, he was part of the crowd and let’s just say I found out first hand how amazing his butt is…”

“Wait a second! He?!” His look was hilarious, eyes wide and mouth hanging open anime style and it made me burst into a laughing fit for a moment before he slapped my shoulder. “Yah, elaborate, you poop! Has my little baby bear actually admitted to himself that he likes dick after all?! I can’t believe it! After all the awkwardness with that other dude?”

My face felt fiery once again, but I shoved him playfully because he wasn’t entirely wrong there. “We haven’t gotten to the point where our dicks got involved yet, but yeah, I guess I do? It was way different with the other guy. There was no chemistry at all, but Junho, man… He’s magic. It’s impossible to fight it. His presence just hits you right in the face.” I tried to explain the inexplicable mystery of Junho’s power over me with wild gestures.

“Whoa, young padawan, chill. No need to unleash your Taekwondo skills on me…” he urged me, scooting away to avoid getting hit. “So, eh, is he the one?”

I blinked at him in confusion, my mind too slow to keep up with his stream of conscious: “The one? Which one?”

He had the nerve to do an actual facepalm before he was generous enough to rephrase. “THE one? You know, the father of your future children kind of one? The one you want to grow old with? The one you want to wake up next to for the rest of your life? All that stuff everyone always talks about with heart eyes, you know?”

Why yes, trust this shithead to ask the most mind-boggling questions in human history as if he was talking about the weather.

I stared at him with eyes like tennis balls, completely unable to wrap my head around the idea that Junho might indeed be the much sung of ‘one’. “Why do you even ask me such questions, you butt pirate? Last night was the first time we saw each other for longer than a couple of minutes! But of course, I will ask him to marry me this weekend and we’ll adopt a few kids next month! SERIOUSLY, DO I LOOK LIKE I HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN?! ”

He snorted and twisted his way out of my iron grip on his wrist. “Sugarplum, there is clearly only one butt pirate in this room, and it is most definitely not me. Besides, if YOU don’t know, who does?”

“Am I the oracle of Delphi? Maybe your mum knows…” I shrugged and rolled my eyes at him. “Look, Wooyoung, can you please do me a favour and go fuck yourself? I’m trying hard to get a grip on myself and forget about him for the next few hours, so I can be somewhat productive. Don’t you have someone else to harass? I’m pretty sure noona could use some ass kissing right no-”

“Hwang Chansung, who pissed into your coffee this morning?! You are aware that this little fling with chicky there was a one-time thing, aren’t you? No offense, Wooyoungie, but we were clear about that, right?” my boss intervened casually, glaring daggers at me and throwing intimidating looks into Wooyoung’s direction.

He only shrugged and gestured towards me. “I know, so please tell him that. And please use your empathy to find out what the heck his problem is.”

Her eyes were on me a second later, looking at me like a vulture ogling the dying prey. “What is he talking about, Channie? Wait a second, let me guess… You met someone!”

I gave Woo a challenging look. “See? She reads me a lot better than you did, you creepy sex maniac. And yes, noona, I did. It has yet to be decided what exactly is going on between us, but-”

“Chan is already planning the wedding and thinking about naming their first born after me.” my best friend interjected rudely, smirking to himself with mischief. He knew dragging our boss into this would make me speak, but he hadn’t expected our boss’ temper.

“Okay listen, boys, whatever issue you have with each other, please settle it outside of work. I’m not your babysitter and I’m certainly not paid enough to put up with your bickering. That being said, I kindly ask you to MOVE YOUR ASS TO YOUR OFFICE AND WRITE THAT DAMNED ARTICLE, WOOYOUNG! It was supposed to be done yesterday! And if you give me one more excuse for your tardiness, I will whip your ass, do you understand?”

He looked at her as if she had taken his lollipop away and it didn’t help that I was snickering about her influence over him. Eventually, he sent me a glare that meant we weren’t done talking about the topic of Junho before he scurried away and returned to work on his laptop.

Meanwhile I relaxed a little, knowing noona wouldn’t pressure me that much.

“Channie?”

“Hm?”

“Does he make you happy?”

“How do you know it’s a guy?”

She rolled her eyes and snorted, her hand now resting on my shoulder: “Don’t reply to questions with more questions, love. And the way you two shouted, I guess everyone on the floor might know by now. Which is cool, you know? It’s your business who you love and I just want to make sure you’re feeling good about it. So… are you?”

I sent her a content smile and nodded. “It’s still quite early and I don’t know him well enough to predict how this will go, but right now I am, noona. Thank you for your concern, though. It means a lot to me.”

I should have expected the bearhug she gave me since we were very similar in that way, but it still came as a surprise to me. She hadn’t hugged me like this since our university days, after all, and it was only now that I realised how much I had actually missed it.

“That’s good enough for me. And please, ursa minor, you know I have a soft spot for you, so I worry about you, of course.”

Maybe it was the way she patted my back or how she made me feel safe in her arms despite being really tiny compared to me, but I couldn’t help tearing up a little. “Stop being so cute, noona. You’re making me all sentimental…”

She hugged me even tighter and chuckled softly against my shoulder. “When did my little baby bear actually grow up so much? I swear it was only yesterday that you were smaller than me and now you’re towering over me and making me look like a fool for calling you ursa minor.”

“Must have happened over night. And please don’t ever stop that, okay, ursa major? I really missed that nickname.”

“Can you guys please stop being so disgustingly sweet? I’m trying to work here, but it’s hard to suppress the gag reflex while being exposed to these levels of affection…”

At that moment, my boss and I turned towards him simultaneously and poked our tongues at him. “Oh, shut your beak, you jealous chicken!”

She grinned at me and high-fived me before we separated again, but then she glanced back at him with a more solemn expression: “You don’t need to be jealous, Woodongie. I love both of you in different ways, okay?”

“Like I care…”

“Oh, shush, do you need a hug, too, my little chicken nugget?” she jested and went for it, completely ignoring his stubborn expression. Looking at them like that reminded me why I couldn’t have asked for better friends if I tried. They were everything I wasn’t and somehow we had always been on the same wavelength.

“Get a room, you two!”

“Now now, don’t get cheeky, baby bear!” she reprimanded me and pushed herself away from Wooyoung’s now slightly more relaxed figure.

“I suggest we all go back to work and get this next magazine on track. Wooyoungie, please take a look at the concept I sent you earlier, okay? And Channie, please be a dear and check if the layout works for the photos you picked…” she distributed the most urgent tasks among us but stopped on her way out of my office, glancing back at us with a smirk: “Oh, and I forgot to tell you, but a new shipment of products arrived. For the test column, I mean. All of us will try them.”

With these words still hanging in the air, she was gone, leaving Wooyoung and I staring at each other fearfully. “This might be our last chance to run, Channie…”

“Come on, how embarrassing can it be?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About Chan's relationship with his boss/Wooyoung: They were friends since their childhood and went to university together, hence the unusual closeness. The nicknames ursa major/ursa minor also stem from that time and are exclusively used by Chansung and his boss Kang Jihyo for each other. They originate in their shared love for astronomy and the fact that back in the day Jihyo was the one looking out for the boys, which changed a little when Chan outgrew her and they settled for protecting Wooyoung together. Chan and Jihyo are not related, even if he refers to her as noona.


	6. ~Fifth Day (Evening Pt. 1)~

Turns out that my expectations were far too low. We had received a variety of make-up essentials for the autumn season among other things and were now expected to put them to the acid test.

My boss was incredibly joyous about the prospect of us wearing full make-up, Wooyoung and me on the other hand…

Well, at least she was generous enough to allow us to try them at home, but we had to take photos for the column and I don’t exactly recall how it happened, but somehow I ended up calling Junho and asking him to help me.

I knew Wooyoung would be fine on his own, but I was a hopeless case when it came to these things. So I fell into Junho’s arms with relief when I dropped by his place right after work.

“Hey Channie, what happened?” he wondered while patting my back soothingly and waited for me to explain.

“I haven’t had a chance to tell you yet, but I work for a magazine and since we’re more of a small family business, we usually try out some products for one of our columns… It’s just, this time it’s mostly make-up?”

I probably sounded as desperate as I felt about the whole issue, but he kept on caressing my back until I had settled down a little more and pulled me into the apartment before he closed the door.

“Well, babe, what can I say? You’re in luck.”

I stopped in my tracks and followed his retreating figure with my eyes. He was smiling mischievously when he glanced over his shoulder to check if I was still there. “I’m doing this as a hobby.”

“What are you, really?”

“Your saviour, Channie.” he quipped with the brightest eye smile I had seen on him yet, and I couldn’t help but beam and run after him, scooping him up in my arms and spinning us around until he squealed with joy. “Chansung, put me down, I’m getting dizzy here!”

At this point, he was clinging to me like a monkey to a tree and it made my heart skip a beat. His hot breath, his arms around my neck and his warmth engulfing me was all it took to lose myself in the moment. Somehow we went from standing to him straddling my waist and kissing me breathless in a matter of seconds, though.

The sight of him so close to my face, lips still glistening and red after the kiss, simply took my breath away, so I lay there, awed out of my wits until I felt something wet on my forehead. Glancing up towards it, I spotted a black ball of fur with yellow eyes that was sniffling on my hair and another kitten not too far away.

“They missed you a lot.” Junho admitted with a grin and took Wollie to place her on my chest.

I gave her a few loving strokes and she actually decided to lie down and purr happily until Johnny attacked her.

“Yah, Johnny, leave your sister alone…” Junho scolded him, but they ignored it, chasing each other into the livingroom. “These kids…”

“Hey.”

His gaze had softened immediately when I regained his attention, though. “Hm?”

“Did you miss me, too?” I asked hesitantly, entwining my hand with his.

A sigh was all the response he gave me for a moment, his eyes closed. And yet, he didn’t let go of my hand. But then he opened them again and I could see that it was genuine when he admitted: “More than I would have deemed possible...”

He stood up immediately, reaching out to help me up: “Come on, I’m pretty sure you haven’t had a chance to eat yet, but let’s get this done before we have supper, okay?”

I nodded and took his hand, pretending he had pulled me up a little too energetically, so I flung myself into his arms again. Judging by his look he had seen through my act without a problem, but he smirked nonetheless and grabbed my ass to knead it a little. “So clumsy, babe, better hold onto me tightly.”

“Seems more like it’s the other way around, eh?”

“Can’t say that I don’t like what I feel there, yup. So I will probably get back to that soon… But now for the actual task of turning you into a pretty autumn fae. Grab that bag and follow me, please…”

When he said he did make-up as a hobby, I certainly did not expect to walk into an entire room full of cupboards and cupboards filled with all shades of lipsticks and eyeshadows, mascaras and whatnot. There was an entire wall of shelves with accessories ranging from jewellery to flower arrangements and I felt sorry about it, but I had to take a while to look around and gaze at everything in amazement.

“A hobby, huh?”

He shrugged and prepared the vanity for me: “I do everything I do wholeheartedly, so it’s only natural. Can you show me the products, please? I need to see if the colours fit your clothes…”

A look into the bag later he shook his head at my checkered shirt and reached for the buttons to take it off. “This won’t work, sorry. The pants should be fine, but we’ll have to find something else to go with it.”

He scurried off and left me standing there speechlessly but returned a second later to take my hand and pull me along to yet another room. This one was filled with all kinds of clothes, sorted by colour and season. “Seriously, Junho, what are you?”

“A friend of mine is currently working on becoming a clothes designer, so she made a habit of giving me some of the clothes she made.” he explained while digging through the clothes.

“SOME?” I emphasised, still overwhelmed by the sheer amount of fabric surrounding me. I was so overwhelmed by the view that I didn’t even notice it when he came up to me with three different pullovers.

“Hm… Yeah, I think we’ll go with this one. What do you say?”

I looked down at the one he had chosen and fell in love with the subtle grey bat pattern on black wool immediately. “Yes, please.”

He helped me into it and eyed the new outfit with a satisfied smile: “Black really is your colour…”

“Always loved it, yeah. The bat pattern, though! Such a nice touch.” I gushed, probably looking like a kid in a sweets shop, but I really couldn’t care less about the impression I gave him. I had always loved all things remotely creepy, so bats were right up my alley.

I was too caught up gazing at the pullover adoringly to notice his cat grin, but there was no way I could have ignored his lips suddenly pressing a quick kiss to mine. The whole act left me blinking at him, but he held my gaze, seemingly very content with the way he had gotten my attention.

“Do you like it?”

“I love it.”

“Keep it then.”

My chin dropped and I was praying to all the gods that it didn’t look as stupid as I felt it did. “I can’t. It was a gift.”

“Sweetheart, look around, I will probably never run out of clothes these next few years. And you love this one obviously a lot more than I ever could. So keep it. I’ll tell my friend about it and make sure to mention how delighted you looked when you laid eyes on it.”

I swear my eyes teared up a little, but I tried to bite it back. His gaze became softer, though, and he stepped closer, wrapping his arms around me without a word of warning.

“I will only accept tears of happiness, you hear me? Just think of it as a thank you for making me feel all fuzzy and warm inside.”

I nodded against his shoulder, distrusting my voice at that moment. So, instead of words, I let actions speak, placing a gentle kiss on his neck and wrapping my arms around him as well.

“You’re such a cutie, honestly. My bear with the heart of a child.”

“Tsk, I’m not. I’m a hard guy without emotions who eats nails for breakfast and brushes his teeth with steel wool!”

His chuckle sounded like a choir of angels to my ears: “Oh yes, of course, you are! I bet you wipe your butt with sandpaper and shower with ice water too, eh? How stupid of me to think differently…”

“ABSOLUTELY! And you forgot that my heart is made of stone.”

“How could I?! Silly me, please forgive my fuzzy brain. I guess that’s what happens when you develop a crush on someone.”

I gave him a solemn nod and sent a pitiful glance in his direction. “Such a shame that we can’t be together…”

He pretended to look distraught, chest clutching and tearful puppy eyes included. “Why?”

“Because I’m Hula Hair Barbie!” I shouted and went into Hula mode which cracked him up in record time. He stared at me in disbelief for a moment and I had a field day watching the spectrum of emotions on his face as he computed what I had said, noticed the Hula moves and finally lost it. He was down on his knees and holding his stomach with breathless gasps, almost crying tears of joy.

I felt pity a couple of minutes in and stopped the dancing, kneeling down instead to pick him up, only to be met with the brightest smile I had ever seen. My heart stopped for a moment and I swear I felt a shift between us as if something had clicked and everything started to make sense all of a sudden.

He probably felt it too, since he had stopped chuckling and was now staring into my eyes, just the cat like smile gracing his features. “You have the worst kind of humour I have ever encountered, Channie. And I love it.”

My brain was still on autopilot, so I didn’t realise what I said until the words had been spoken: “I think I’m falling in love with you.”

What actually fell between us was silence, though, me just blinking at him while he looked back at me expressionlessly. There was an elephant in the room, but neither of us really dared to acknowledge it, so he sighed and averted his gaze, standing up eventually. I cursed my lack of brain to mouth filter inwardly, knowing full well that I had ruined it and I honestly wanted to punch myself in the face because of it.

Before I had a chance to go through with this plan he had touched my wrist, though, signing me to follow him: “Let’s do what you came here for, okay?”

I was shocked to see him acting so strangely, so tempted to shout at him that I had only used work as an excuse to come here and be with him for a while, to confess that I hardly spent a moment without thinking about him. But I didn’t. It was far too early to feel this way and I realised that I would only scare him more by voicing these thoughts.

That’s why I gave him a headstart and went after him silently, settling down in the chair in front of the vanity, eyes glued to the mirror and every last hint of a smile gone.

He sighed again, rummaging through the bag as if to buy time and wait for the atmosphere to become less awkward, but it didn’t. Meanwhile, I tried to relax but my words echoed in my head and I just couldn’t tune them out.

When my level of frustration passed a certain point, I gave up and turned towards him, surprised to see him doing the same. His hands were on my armrests and eyes effortlessly holding my gaze: “Listen Channie, I’m sorry I didn’t say anything, but fuck, it’s so freaking early… I just… It’s not that I don’t feel the same way. But I don’t want us to stumble into this blindly and regret it. I really want to get to know you before I say these words. You have a right to know what you’re getting yourself into, just as much as I do. And I don’t feel like we know that yet. So please don’t think of it as a rejection, okay? For someone I’ve only known for such a short time, you are already incredibly important to me.”

I gave him a slow nod in response and looked at my feet, fearing my eyes would give away how much I regretted having forced him to explain.

But then there was the warmth of his palm touching my cheek and raising my chin gently.

His eyes were so much softer now and held a hint of distress: “Channie… Don’t feel bad for saying it, okay? You have no idea how happy these words made me.”

“Did they really? You seemed to feel burdened by them-”

“That’s not it, no. If anything, they shocked me a little because they made me realise that I’m starting to feel the same way and it’s kind of scary to feel this way about someone you literally only know for three weeks now, right? It’s not a bad feeling, of course. Just brand new and I have no idea how to cope with the intensity of it…”

I nodded my head in agreement, flashing him a sheepish smile right after: “I truly wish I could argue with that, but you have a valid point there.”

“Right? Besides, you’re at my mercy now, baby bear. Be careful what you say, or I might slip and give you a unibrow or something.” he threatened me with a wink and smirked happily.

Obviously, he didn’t expect me to grab him by the hips and pull him on top of me, though. The chair was certainly far too small for both of us, but I couldn’t care less and took his face into my hands, getting closer with half-lidded eyes. “I advise you not to threaten me either, sunshine, or I will get my revenge when you least expect it. That is a promise.” I sealed it with a kiss and beamed at him: "And now work your magic on me, Mr. make-up artist.”

His eyes were glazed over for a heartbeat, focussed on my lips. “Your lips will look stunning with lipstick on…”

“They look better with your own on them…” I uttered under my breath, beaming at him as if I was innocence personified. And he looked at me thoroughly, not sure if he had heard it right, I guess.

“Did you just-?”

I tilted my head in fake confusion and hummed: “Hm?”

“Oh, nothing. So, dearest bear, which style will it be? Sultry autumn fae or man-eating vamp?” he suggested and kept on blinking with a sweet smile.

“I have literally no idea, Junho. Just go with the one you consider more suitable.”

“Aish, you’re not helping here… I guess vamp it is, then. Goes better with the pullover at least. Oh, by the way, you’re expected to test them all, right?”

I pondered a little before I nodded vaguely. “Does that mean I get two rounds of treatment?”

“I was about to suggest that I wear the other look myself. That is if you’re allowed to involve others…”

I shrugged at him and smiled sheepishly since I had never really faced such a situation. So I decided it was okay. “I guess it’s fine. Not like we ever made any rules about it. Besides, this way we will actually get results our readers can work with, so I don’t see a problem with it.”

“Brilliant! I have to admit these colours look very intriguing and I haven’t had an opportunity to try this brand yet, so I’m glad you asked me to help you. Please relax, okay?”

I leaned back and did just that, listening to him explain what he was doing to my face with the casual excitement of someone who is very passionate about the things they do. It felt nice for the most part, the soft brush strokes and sponge dabs, the smooth feeling of the lipstick on my lips after a while. The only things that had me uncomfortable were the mascara he applied and the fake lashes. But it was over soon enough and he continued working with my hair for a little longer.

When he told me to take a look at the result in the mirror, I expected everything but what I actually saw. Whenever I had tried these things on my own before, I had ended up looking like the poor excuse for a sad clown or as if I had fallen into cans of paint.

This time, however, it looked like the perfect combination of male and female features, my eyes and lips accentuated enough to bring them out but still keeping a subtlety that didn’t make it appear out of place. He had found that line and walked it with sure steps, knowing full well what he had to do to make this look work for me.

“Fuck.”

“Is that a good fuck or a bad fuck?” he asked, worry evident in his tone and in the way he bit his bottom lip.

I turned my head towards him and gave him a strange look. “I am currently trying hard not to develop a crush on myself because of the way you made me look and you’re honestly asking me if this was a good fuck? Junho, my little strawberry, this is the best fuck since the invention of fucking.”

I couldn’t help but stand up and stare back into the mirror, though, too amazed by the magic that had happened on my face. “How is that even possible?”

“Well, your face makes a great canvas for this kind of artistry, Chanbear… Do you really like it?”

“Listen, Junho, I would kiss the living daylights out of you in gratitude, if that didn’t mean ruining the perfection of these lips.”

He snorted and slapped my butt, making me gasp and turn towards him, only to find his hand on my cheek and his eyes taking a thorough look at his creation: “Fuck, you really are one gorgeous little shit. I’m good…”

“You are, you definitely are.” I admitted, beaming brightly which made him beam right back at me with his crescent moon eyes.

“Alright then, now for the autumn fae… I think I need another shirt for that. Be right back.”

He was gone and had returned two minutes later, already looking like an apparition in the best possible way. The maroon pullover he was wearing made his skin glow and only added to his overall radiance.

“Are you sure you need make-up to look otherworldly? I’d say you’re doing damned well already.”

“Don’t be mistaken, love, I know that, but we still made a deal and I’m curious.” he pointed out cheekily and sent what was supposed to be a wink in my direction.

“You really need to work on your winking skills, though, Junho…” I teased him and was met with his tongue poking at me through the mirror.

“No chance to fool me, Chanbear, I know you find that incredibly cute.”

“Do I now?”

“Your blush speaks volumes about that. And, I dare say, so does the smirk that seems to be permanently attached to your face when you see me.”

“Tsk, I guess I’ve been caught red-handed.”

So I settled down in the chair again, watching him work at an incredible speed. His accuracy was almost inhuman, probably achieved by years and years of training and a complete knowledge of his own features.

Once he stepped away from the mirror, he went over to the accessories and searched for a while before he returned with a crown of leaves and twigs with some dried berries on them. He put it on and fumbled around to get the perfect fit, eventually putting the finishing touches to his look before he turned to me and waited for my judgement.

Sorry if this sounds cheesy, but when I took a step back and walked around him, eyes taking in every little detail he had so carefully added, I just couldn’t find the right words to describe what I felt.

“Channie? Is it that bad? Please say something…”

I stopped in front of him again and put my hands on his shoulders which made him flinch for some reason, so I ended up staring at him with wide eyes. “Why do you doubt your abilities so much, babe? I’m simply unable to describe how incredibly stunning you look. Seriously, I’m already in love with the look you gave me, but this... man, you are divine.”

“Oh, stop being silly, Chansung.” he dismissed my compliment and tried to get away from me, but stopped when my fingertips drew tiny circles on his neck. He leaned into the touch with something akin to a purr and it put a smile on my lips as I nudged his ear with my nose and whispered: “Sh, you are. Last word on that matter. And, uhm, is it okay if I take photos of you, too? We usually add some to the article about the test, so...”

“Sure, I don’t mind it. Shall I pose a little?” he suggested, a grin lighting up his features while I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.

“Might as well, yes. You went the extra mile with the outfits anyway.”

“Right! Come on, it’s not much, but I have a spot that should work as a great backdrop.”

So he led the way to a section of his livingroom that was empty except for the photo tapestry covering the wall. It was an autumn scene in a forest, flooded with light and the most amazing colours.

“This is perfect for your styling, yes. Let me just grab my camera, okay?”

Once my camera was in my hands, I made my way back to him. Carefully, though, in order not to be noticed. He was standing there, gazing through the windows at the city lights and completely lost in thought. I took the chance to snap a few pictures from my hiding space and finally showed myself again.

“Hey, did you get lost?” he joked, beaming at me happily and I shook my head, blushing a little because I hadn’t asked him before I took the pictures.

“Actually no, I snuck up on you. Do you want to see the pictures?”

“You’re such a stalker! Show me.”

His face was expressionless when he stared at the screen, his shoulder brushing against my chest, but I honestly couldn’t look at the screen with him. Instead, my eyes were captivated by the beauty of his features.

“Stop staring at me like that and explain to me how this person in the pictures looks so divine, you silly bear.”

“Told you.” I chuckled and beamed at him.

“Oh, cut it out. I never look like that. Why would I suddenly start looking this radiant, eh?”

I leaned closer to his ear and muttered: “Love.” It gave him gooseflesh and made me burst into another fit of giggles, casually stepping out of the way when he turned around all baffled and about to flick my chest.

“You can be grateful that I don’t want to ruin the effort I put into our make-up, otherwise I’d kick your ass right now, you cheeky shit!”

All I did was send him a smirk and intense gaze before I brought my camera back up and nodded in his direction: “Get that sexy ass of yours into position, Junho. We have a lot to do.”

He glared daggers at me but moved regardless. But he wouldn’t be my Junho, if he hadn’t flipped me the bird and signed that he’d be watching me as he did so.

The bickering was far too much fun to stop already, so I mouthed a ‘love you’ his way and watched him turn into a tomato because of it. And then I started snapping away, taking him by surprise the first couple of times, but he relaxed eventually and struck a couple of very stunning poses for me.

At some point, I really wondered if he had done this before. He seemed to be very comfortable around cameras and that was the only reasonable explanation to me.

“Have you modeled before?”

“Not professionally. I just posed a couple of times for a friend of mine.”

“You’re incredibly aware of your body, though. Makes it much easier to take good pics.”

“Well, I’m a fabulous bitch, what did you expect?” he pointed out with a wink and blew me a kiss.

Naturally, I captured that on camera and decided to add this one to the article.

“Alright, babe, that should suffice. Let’s take a look at them before we continue with mine.”

He nodded and came closer again, resting his chin on my shoulder as he watched the screen. “You’re a fucking natural, Chansung. Do you mind letting me have some of these?”

“What? Not at all! I can copy them to your hard drive once we’re finished, okay?”

He nodded with a smile and reached for the camera afterwards. “Can I take your pics?”

“Do you know how this camera works?”

“Yeah, I have a similar model.” he explained and told me to stand in front of the windows. Once he had added a lamp for better lighting, we started.

“Okay, imagine you’re trying to seduce a stranger just by looking at them…”

That was an incredibly hard task in itself since I’m usually far too shy to even hold anyone’s gaze, but somehow it worked to picture this stranger as Junho. My face did things I never knew it was able to, flirtatious gazes, winks and sexy smiles included. I felt empowered in this position, enjoying it immensely to be the one in charge.

And Junho obviously loved every bit of it, too. His grin was full of joy and mischief, eyes almost vanished, so I really wondered how he managed to see what he was doing with the camera.

“Oi, fairy godmother, do you just snap these randomly or are you actually paying attention to what you’re photographing?” I teased him and was met with the display of his middle finger.

“Pardon me, I’m trying hard to capture that sexy side of yours, but I simply cannot see it. Could you please try harder, dickhead?”

“Oh, so you want sexy, yeah?” I uttered and felt even more challenged by his words.

As if on cue, something inside me clicked into place and I let go of all my inhibitions. This was no longer about the photos for the article. It was solely between the two of us, a battle that had no real winner.

The gaze I sent his way was filled with longing, speaking of things that could happen if only he allowed them to. I didn’t even need to say a single word in order to lure him in and make him put down the camera. All I had to do was stare into his eyes and bite my lips, followed by a suggestive smirk. A second later the camera lay on the side table and he had crossed the distance between us, his hands loosely wrapped around my shoulders, but still pulling me close enough so he only had to get on his toes to seal my lips with his own.

“You fucking tease…” he breathed against them before he went in for a kiss that would probably ruin our make-up entirely. Not that I really cared about it at this point. He was far too good at distracting me. So good, in fact, that I lost track of time until he broke the kiss and murmured into my ear with an audible smirk: “Channie, you look ridiculous now.”

I raised my brow because of the statement and took a thorough look at him, too. “Well, sunshine, I’m not the only one. I guess that’s our cue to take it off, eh?”

“Mhm.” he hummed, already attacking my lips again. I stopped resisting for a moment but once we needed a second to breathe again, I pushed him away with a little more persistence. His eyes gleamed in annoyance as he held my gaze, probably trying to make me waver, but I stood my ground and he gave up with a deep sigh.

“Spoilsport…” he pouted. Yep. And it was an incredibly cute sight, I kid you not. Every bit of resistance in me disappeared immediately and I tried to pacify him.

“Hey, we can always continue later? Maybe after a nice shower?”

“How about a bath?” he suggested with a strange glint in his eyes, receiving a nod in response.

That’s how I found myself standing in front of his bathroom, looking at him shyly: “Uhm, you go first, okay? I’ll wait till you’re done and play with the kittens in the meanti-”

“We can bathe together, Channie. Saves water and I honestly don’t mind it.”

I’d be lying if I claimed to have kept my cool in that moment. No, instead my chin decided to drop and leave me looking like an idiot.

“Pardon?”

“Sweetheart, you, me, this bathtub. And I promise to take off your make-up first…”

“You just want to see me naked, you pervert!” I screeched in a high pitched voice and tried to distract him from my baffled state. He really wanted us to get naked, didn’t he? Damn.

“Oh noes, I have been caught!” he gasped dramatically and beamed at me. “Just so you know, I only intend to bathe with you, nothing more. Unless you want that, of course.” he added with a wink accompanied by a soft smile. I’m not sure it was meant to calm me, but it definitely did the trick.

I took a deep breath and nodded in his direction, already about to take off the pullover before he poked my chest: “Make-up, Channie. Let me get rid of it before you strip.”

“I’m not stripping…” I pointed out, vaguely scandalised.

“Stripping, taking off your clothes, whatever you want to call it. Don’t do it right now, otherwise you’ll get all the make-up on your pullover.”

I sighed and let go of the fabric immediately, waiting for him to remove the remnants of my make-up. He was incredibly gentle and concentrated, a fascinating sight to behold as I tried to follow his movements with my eyes for as long as possible.

Once I had returned to my natural state, he placed a soft kiss on the tip of my nose and stepped back. “You can hop in already if you want to. I’ll join you in a second, okay? Just need to fix this mess first…” he suggested, gesturing at his own face  with a lopsided grin.

I chuckled and waited for him to turn towards the mirror before I took off everything in a hurry and almost jumped into the tub.

“Nice butt, Channie.”

I had no idea what to reply, so I submerged myself until the water reached my upper lip and stayed there, trying to ignore the blush that rose on my cheeks.

He took his dear time, though, obviously not minding it at all when I glanced over at his increasingly more naked figure. Maybe it’s a strange comparison, but he moved almost like a cat in its elegant laziness. It was a curious sight to behold, but he was still incredibly gorgeous, possibly even more so because it didn’t feel like an act. He was completely at peace with himself even in the nude and I couldn’t help but admire that confidence.

“Hey, cutie pie, can you make some room for me?”

His voice was velvety and his eyes gleamed when I looked up into them. At that exact moment, I realised how hopelessly infatuated I actually was. But I scooted back anyway, pulling my knees up against my chest to give him enough space to step in as well.

“It’s okay Channie, you’re allowed to look. Not like I have anything that you don’t.” he assured me, his hand casually placed on my kneecap as he entered.

“Have you lost your tongue, babe?” he jested then, poking my shin with his toe once he had settled down at the opposite end of the tub.

“N-no, I’m just not used to bathing with someone else.”

“Aha, I see. Well, relax, okay? I’m not going to bite you.” And as if it was perfectly normal, he rested his right calf on the edge of the tub, leaning his head back and humming a soft melody, his toes wiggling along with the tune.


	7. ~Fifth Day (Evening Pt. 2)~

I could see that his eyes were closed and that his body relaxed gradually, so I tried to do the same, listening intently to the sound of his voice until I felt my heart beating much slower.

At some point, my left hand came into contact with his leg, so I began drawing circles on it subconsciously, almost making him purr in the process. I came to love this sound he made, therefore, I added a little more pressure to the caress.

No idea whether it was intentional or not, but he put his other leg in my reach as well, humming approvingly when I started stroking  it too. It put a satisfied smile on my face and made me bolder.

Bold enough, in fact, that my fingertips ventured closer to his middle, brushing along the inside of his thighs until he gasped in surprise and his eyes shot open. I held his gaze with my own, waiting for him to tell me to stop, but all he did was smirk at me.

But I felt like teasing him a little, so I moved my hand along his flank and up his stomach, making sure to pay attention to his chest as I dared him to make a move as well.

“So much for being shy, eh, Channie?” he teased me, spreading his legs a little wider.

I shrugged it off and smiled wickedly at him, but he surprised me by taking my hand with his own and guiding it up to his mouth. The sight of my fingers disappearing between his lips had me mesmerised for a moment until he began licking them.

“Why don’t you take those” he uttered, guiding my hand back down between his legs “and put them to good use down here?” His eyes sparkled with mischief and I was done for. The second my skin connected with his, I wrapped my hand around his hardening flesh and gave it a couple tentative pulls.

He threw his head back with a soft groan, probably not expecting the firm grip, but soon enough he reached out, urging me to move closer.

“Come here, Chansung, don’t stay so far away…” His voice shook, making me narrow my eyes as I beheld the way he reacted to my touch. Needless to say that I enjoyed it a lot, so I adjusted my position in the tub until I was kneeling directly in front of him, still stroking him.

His hand found my neck at some point, grabbing me by the hair and pulling me close enough for him to capture my lips in an open-mouthed kiss. “You devil with an angel’s face… have mercy on me, please.”

“Oh, I don’t think so. Not yet at least.” I mused and let go of his dick entirely which made him stare at me incredulously.

“Are you serious?”

I waited a while, grinning at him as if I was. His look grew more desperate with every second that passed, amusing me to no end as it did. But despite loving my influence on him, I was far too intrigued by the sight of him writhing beneath me with desire.

“Chansung? Baby? Please?”

“You can be so cute if you want to be.” I teased him, leaning close enough to feel his breath on my lips.

“This is not cuteness, this is downright despair…” he admitted defeatedly, trying to close the distance between us somehow, but I had pulled away again, beaming at him innocently.

“Such a pity that I don’t feel like jerking you off anymore…”

The look he gave me was almost heartbreaking, but I told myself not to give in just yet. Instead, I closed my eyes, humming a soft melody to mimic his earlier behaviour.

“Channie-aaah…” he whined, poking my thigh until I peeked at him again. “Pwease.”

I guess the additional pout and puppy-eyed look did it for me, so I sighed and gave up, scooting closer once again, gently pushing his legs apart to make room for me.

“Remember, you brought this upon yourself…” I murmured against his neck, kissing it gently while my hand disappeared in the water and continued teasing him.

“Not like I’ll be able to forget this anytime soon… Go faster, please. Hng...”

His breathless voice made me grin as I nuzzled the soft spot behind his ear and traced the outline of its shell with my tongue afterwards. “Are you more of a top or bottom?”

“I don’t mind either…” was all the response I got from him before he pulled me into another kiss, making some room for my leg at his side, so I was almost lying on top of him, only balancing my weight on one knee and my left arm.

His response made me grin into the kiss and deepen it, hoping to distract him a little from what I was about to do.

But it wasn’t enough. He still gasped and looked at me in surprise as the first digit went in.

“What even?”

I blushed guiltily, almost moving away but he held me in place while I tried to explain: “I figured we could change things up a bit?”

“With your fingers up my ass?” he panted, throwing his head back in a voiceless moan. He seemed to relax a little around my finger, though, even more so when I kissed the corner of his mouth gently.

“Just let me work my magic, okay? You won’t regret it, I promise.”

He didn’t appear entirely convinced just yet, but closed his eyes anyway, forehead still creased in irritation. But as I kept moving he relaxed gradually, his mouth slightly open to let out soft mewls. That’s when I finally curled my fingers and found his prostate, massaging it with devotion.

“Wha-... Chansung, too much! Fuck, I can’t take it, fuckfuckfuck!”

I watched gleefully how he came, almost crushing my arm with how hard he grabbed it, but I honestly couldn’t care less at this point. The sight of him, all breathless and spent, was beyond stunning.

When his eyes found mine again he was glaring at me, though, making me shiver in anticipation and, I have to admit, also in fear because I wasn’t quite sure what he’d do to get back at me.

Turns out he didn’t wait for long to get his revenge. As soon as his body behaved somewhat normally again, he sat up straight, pushing me backwards until I was trapped between him and the wall of the bathtub.

“I hope you know you’re not getting away unharmed after this… Turn around.” His voice was calm, but he could just as well have put a gun to my head.

I didn’t even think twice before I moved hesitantly, flinching when both his hands grabbed my hips tightly and adjusted my position according to his wish. I wasn’t entirely sure whether I liked that, but from this position I had a great view of us in the mirror, noticing with a mixture of excitement and dread how his gaze burned into mine before he pushed my neck down gently but still with determination: “Bend over.”

I complied wordlessly, shivering a little in the face of his dominance, but his touch was still nowhere near painful, so I saw no reason to fret.

On the contrary, it became only gentler as his hand moved down my back and ended up cupping my butt, caressing it lovingly until I began to relax again and deem myself out of danger.

Never have I been more wrong, though. The second his flat hand connected with my ass, I yelped in shock, eyes shooting open and staring at him through the mirror.  His eyes were narrowed, but there was a teasing smirk on his lips, daring me to complain aloud.

“That was for being an evil bastard. And now hold onto the edge of the tub, babe. I won’t go easy on you either.”

That was all the warning I got before he started kneading my butt and kissed his way down from my tailbone, eventually biting my cheeks and pushing them apart to have his way with me.

I honestly expected him to use his dick but he surprised me by using his tongue, lapping away at the sensitive skin while his hands actually took care of my front.

I had never had a chance to experience this before, so I was somewhat uncomfortable with the idea at first, but as he kept going, probing me with the rough muscle, I started to like it and moved against him eventually.

My voice had never sounded this raspy and full of desire before and the longer I listened to myself the weirder it got. But there was no way in hell I could have shut up. He was far too intent on making me moan, his hands and tongue catering to my every need.

“Enjoying yourself, Chansung?” he teased me, grazing my buttcheeks with his teeth.

I threw a quick glance over my shoulder, catching the mischievous look on his face, but I was far too breathless to actually reply in full sentences, so I groaned in agreement.

He chuckled because of that, his gaze turning softer as he placed a handful of kisses on my lower back and stroked my cock lazily. “You know, I always wanted to try this. Thanks for giving me this chance.”

“Not like you gave me much of a choice…” I pointed out, but added: “Still glad about that, though. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had the courage to try it. I never got the appeal of it until you happened to walk into my life .”

“You’re welcome, cutie pie.” he muttered against my back, kissing his way upwards until he reached my jaw and finally found my lips again. We kissed without haste, his arms wrapped around me from behind, but it wasn’t enough. He had given me a taste of what it was like to be with him and I simply couldn’t stop just yet. I wanted him whole, preferably buried deep inside of me.

“Junho~”

“Mh?”

I didn’t feel like talking anymore, so all I did was grind against his body.

“What are you trying to tell me, Channie?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Fuck me.”

He went silent for a moment, arresting all his movements at once. “Do you really mean it?”

I turned around enough to look at him, giving him a solemn nod. “Yes. I know what I said earlier and how I acted… And fuck, I know it’s incredibly rushed and that we don’t really know each other yet. But I’m one hundred percent sure that I want this. I want you. Us. I want to be with you in every possible way because it feels so damned perfect.”

He averted his gaze, moving away from me and I felt as if my heart was caught in a tight grip all of a sudden.

“But you don’t want that...” It wasn’t a question. My voice sounded surprisingly sober when I said it, looking at him for an answer. “You’re having doubts.”

He didn’t deny it, so I looked away as well and sat down again, my back facing him. The silence between us was solid enough to cut it until he cleared his voice and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Channie, it’s not that I don’t want to be with you. I do! God knows I craved to be close to you since day one. But I want this to be more than just mindless sex. You’re far too important to me to settle for a quick fuck…”

My eyes were full of fire when I stared back at him over my shoulder: “Do you honestly think I’d do all these things with just anyone?! I’ve got news for you, Junho! I’m fucked up! I have more anxieties than I can count and they’ve been crippling me socially all my damned life! But with you, it’s different. They’re still there, you know? But the fact that you seem to appreciate them as a part of me makes it bearable. Your acceptance brings out the true Chansung that only a handful of people know…”

I took a deep breath, trying to be more level-headed: “You’re not just someone I found attractive and felt like adding to my collection of bed adventures. I opened up to you because you’re very special to me. I have yet to figure out why, but there’s not even the faintest doubt that you are much more than a quick fuck to me. Oh, and just so you know, it usually takes me forever to feel comfortable enough around someone to actually show them my true colours. Or want to sleep with them for that matter.”

My tone had become rather annoyed despite my attempt not to let the situation get to me, so I sighed and stared straight ahead again. “That being said, I have no intention of forcing you to do something you don’t want to do, so let’s just stop it here. I’ll go home once I’m dry…”

“You don’t have to-”

“Don’t I now? I’m clearly making you uncomfortable, am I not?”

“I’m not uncomfortable! I just want to take this slowly…”

That had me laughing dryly. “Oh wow, that’s rich coming from someone who was eating my ass just a couple of minutes ago.”

His cheeks were bright red when he made me face him again. “Excuse me, I have trouble controlling my urges around you, okay? Not like you made it any easier with these devilish fingers up my ass!”

“Aha, now it’s my fault?! You were the one who put these ideas in my head in the first place!”

“I blame it all on your overall presence! You’re too tempting for your own good, asshole!”

“You know what?! Fuck you! It takes two to play this game, fucktard!”

I’m not sure how, but somehow we ended up kissing angrily, nails scratching at each other’s backs and arms. I had turned around completely somehow, Junho caught between my thighs and I had no intention of letting him go again.

“You’re not going anywhere tonight, Chansung…” he growled and stared me down, but I held his gaze effortlessly and raised my brow at him, daring him to live up to his words.

Instead of continuing he rose, though, and urged me to: “Get up and come with me…”

I snorted and remained where I was while he stood up and stepped out of the tub, eyeing me reproachfully as he rubbed himself dry with a towel.

“I’m not letting you drag me around like that, Junho. Make up your mind. What is it that you want?”

He rolled his eyes and sighed, throwing me a dirty look: “I wanted to get to know you slowly. Find out what you like and dislike, have a couple of dates perhaps and see how things might go from there. But it seems impossible with you. There’s no such thing as taking things slowly with you. Do you want to know why?”

I shrugged nonchalantly and held his gaze: “Do tell me.”

“You are a force of nature. Once you had stepped into my life you turned it upside down, made me stray far from the path I usually take with new acquaintances and ignore all the warning signs that I normally pay close attention to. For all I know, you could be a psychopath and killing people for fun. The worst thing about this is that I couldn’t care less about that. I’d still want you just as badly and it scares the shit out of me because I never needed to be with someone so much. Even the fact that I’m telling you this is a testament to my hopeless infatuation with you. I never bared myself to anyone like this, not even my closest friends.”

I remained silent in the face of his confession, trying to digest what it meant for both of us.

“There, happy now? I’m just trying to be somewhat sensible here, but nooo, the great Chansung is unable to wait and think about it all! Come on then, get out of there and let me fuck you against the wall or whatever. You obviously can’t wait for me to ram this bastard here up your ass, can you?!” he barked at me through gritted teeth, grabbing his dick for emphasis.

I snapped. I don’t know why, but it felt as if he hadn’t been listening to anything I had told him before, so his accusation hurt like hell and made me lose my cool. I found myself shoving him up against the tiles only heartbeats later, our eyes burning into each other with an unspoken dare. His fingers were digging into my biceps and his voice was incredibly low.

“Go ahead, spread your legs for me. Let’s get this over with.”

“Fuck you, Junho.” There was a storm raging inside of me, messing with my rationality to a point that I just didn’t care anymore. All I felt were his lips colliding with mine in a kiss that resembled hungry animals snapping at each other, but I guess that’s what we were at that moment.

He pulled me closer by the neck, hooking his left leg around mine, raking my back with his nails. It burned and I would probably carry these love marks around for a couple of days, but it didn’t matter since I paid him back in kind, sinking my teeth into his shoulder.

Junho growled at me because of it, but when I looked at him again I saw how much darker his eyes had gotten and time stopped for a moment. I noticed all the pent up emotions in them, the attraction, the fear, the cluelessness about what was the right thing to do… Was there ever a right thing?

Before I had a chance to think about that some more he was all up in my business, though, his lips and tongue setting my skin on fire and burning away the rest of my reason.

He sank down on the wall and pulled me along, pushing me down until I was sitting there spread-eagled and expecting him to do something, anything.

 

Which he didn’t, of course. Instead, he made his way to one of the cupboards and returned a moment later with something between his lips. It was a condom wrapper, I realised as I stared at it, not expecting to find him ripping it open while he stroked my cock with his other hand.

Another heated gaze burned into my eyes before he put it on me and produced a jar of lube out of god knows where. Once he had coated my cock in it; his touch not enough to make me lose my mind, but just enough to make me hiss at the sensation; he rubbed some more of it between his legs, mewling softly when he pushed inside.

All the while, his eyes never left me. I swear his gaze alone could have gotten me on the edge. Too much passion and ferocity in it to run away anymore.

“You are going to fuck me, Chansung. You are going to fuck me really good until I can't take it anymore and then you’ll keep going. Make me believe that you meant the things you said. Make me feel how much you want me. Don’t make it quick.” he demanded as he turned around and got on all fours.

I hesitated, realising that while we were certainly not in our right minds at the moment, we were not slaves to our sex drive either, so I grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back up and towards me.

“We’ll do this my way, Junho. Come here.”

He was still a little more on the angry side, but his temper had settled down significantly, so he complied, turning around before I held him by the hips and guided him on top of me.

He settled down on my loins, throwing me questioning looks, but his hands connected with my abdomen and stroked it with just a little too much force.

I flashed him a disgruntled smirk before I sat up and pulled him into a breathtaking kiss. Meanwhile, I allowed my hands to wander and wreck havoc on his velvety skin, kneading his butt to my heart’s desire and it made him squirm and gasp into the kiss.

“Do it already, Chansung…”

He looked at me pleadingly at this point, still an edge to it, but no longer as ferocious as he had been before. Instead, he pushed his tongue into my mouth again, finding my own to engage it in a battle for dominance that he would win, simply because I liked this challenging side of his too much to put up a fight for long.

“Raise your hips for me, babe.” It was a soft plea that I uttered against his neck and he wasted no time to comply. With some help of my hand, he was finally able to sink down on my cock. And he did so with a voiceless moan, his forehead resting on my shoulder and his fingers digging into my biceps.

I tried to stay still, but the warmth that engulfed me was overwhelming, so I bucked into him, eliciting a shaky “Fuuuck” from his lips.

“‘m sorry.” “Don’t be… jus- just keep moving.”

So I leant back on my hands, rolling my hips into his slowly until he met my moves with equal force. Seeing him like this, all breathless and craving for more, I was mesmerised. He looked positively fucked out of his senses, but there was a strange glow to him that only added to his beauty.

“You’re gorgeous, Junho.”

He snorted for a second, squeezing his eyes shut as I hit his prostate. When he opened them again, however,  there was mischief twinkling in them and a smirk spreading on his lips. “I’m a fucking mess. Thanks to you, I might add. Nothing gorgeous about that.”

In response, I rolled my eyes at him and sat back up, pulling him into another kiss before I nibbled my way down to his chest and took thorough care of his nipples.

“Fuck, Channie, harder!”

Junho had thrown his head back and was arching into my touch so much that I was worried for his spine for a second. So I decided to adjust our position a bit.

A moment later, he was on his back, his calves hooked around my middle and pulling me even closer. “My back will hate me when we’re finished, but come on, Chansung…”

I didn’t need to be asked twice, so I buried myself deep inside of his heat, making him scream in the process. The quicker pace drove him crazy and earned me more of his scratch marks on my back and chest but I was way beyond caring at this point. I was busy nibbling on his lips and neck, hypnotised by the steady pulse of his carotid artery under my tongue and his scent that surrounded me like morning fog and clouded my senses.

It didn’t take long for either of us to orgasm, him stroking himself until he climaxed and me being pushed over the edge when his muscles clenched around me. It was heavenly, so much better than I had expected considering that I hadn’t really expected it to happen yet.

I sank down on top of him, his legs still hooked behind my butt, but no longer as tightly. He put his arms around me lazily, breathing against my neck to come down from his high, the occasional peck finding its way onto my skin.

“You’re heavy, Channie.” he teased me with the tiniest grin, but I only ruffled his hair and kissed the tip of his nose before I made myself even heavier.

“I know you like being buried beneath me, don’t try to convince me otherwise, Junho.”

“I do, god knows I do.” he admitted with a sigh and moved his hand up to caress my cheek and look me in the eyes for a couple of minutes. I felt like drowning in them, his passion having burned down until there were only glowing embers left where a firestorm had been blazing before. But the soft curl of his lips showed me that this fire would spark again, probably rather soon if he was tempted enough. “So we had sex, eh? I honestly regret not having done this sooner.”

“I told you-” “Yeah, I know, shut up, Chanbear. I just didn’t want to rush things unnecessarily. We haven’t even had our first date yet…”

“Well, technically it is set for tomorrow. Let’s just pretend that we got a little lost in time and space and mixed it up.” I mused with a cheeky wink and batted my lashes at him.

It was almost magical how his entire face lit up with the smile he flashed me. “You’re such a little shit sometimes, babe. But okay, have it your way…”

The smile was gone all too soon, though, replaced by something that struck me as sober and perhaps even a little worried. “Uhm, will you stay here tonight?”

“I fear I’m far too exhausted after this day to move any farther than to your sofa.” I didn’t want to overstep the boundaries that we hadn’t established yet, but since I had slept on the sofa last night while he had retreated to his bedroom, I figured he wouldn’t want me to sleep in his bed yet.

“The sofa again? You know, my bed is big enough for two…” he pointed out non-committal, too shy to look me in the eye for some reason.

“Junho, my little kitten, I really don’t want to state the obvious here, but if you look down, you’ll notice that I’m still buried balls deep in your body. I dare say there is really no need to be shy about anything. So do you want me to sleep with you in your bed?”

His brows furrowed in irritation for a second before he pinched my nipple in reproach. “You’re far too blunt, man. But yes, dammit, I want you to sleep in my bed and cuddle with me. Any problem with that?”

He received the wiggly brows of suggestiveness before I kissed my way up along his jaw and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of his lips. “Nope, I will happily accept this offer. Does that mean we’ll have to move now, though?”

“You bet it does, babe. I’m starving and I’m pretty sure you won’t say no to food either.”

I heaved a sigh and rolled to the side, throwing him a kicked puppy look.

“Hey, don’t do that. That’s unfair, Channie.”

“But you’re such a comfortable pillow.” I whined.

He rolled on his side as well and drew tiny circles on my chest then, promising: “You can use me as a pillow when we go to bed, okay? But let’s have pizza first. If we order it now, it will be here once we’re finished cleaning up this mess.”

I threw a glance in the general direction of his stomach, noticing with glee how I could aid him. “Why yes, you’re right. Go get that phone and come back soon, okay?”

He was out of the door in a heartbeat and back by my side only seconds later, accompanied by his kittens. I greeted them with tender headbutts before I focused my attention back on his standing figure.

“Sooo, what do you want to get, Channie?” he asked absentmindedly as he was scrolling through the pizza site.

“I’m fine with anything, really. Just pick one that has lots of meat on it.” I pondered, eventually beaming up at him, even if he didn’t notice it because he was too caught up with the choices.

“Okay, and for me…”

I was still somewhat aroused by his appearance and I’d be lying if I claimed that the sweat droplets and remnants of cum on his stomach didn’t enthral me further. So it was really no wonder that I ended up licking my way up slowly, eyes on his face, waiting for a reaction.

He certainly didn’t take long to wiggle around and try to get away from me, but I had foreseen that and kept him in place with my hands on his hips. “Let me have this little pre-dinner snack, Junho-yah.”

“You’re not fooling me. I know what you’re up to, you little shit…”

He glowered at me, but only until my hand was fondling his balls playfully and I beamed at him innocently. “And what would that be, I wonder?” I made a point of adding a few tentative licks just around his navel to get him where I wanted him.

“You tell me, Chansung.”

I clicked my tongue suggestively, nuzzling his hip bone for a moment. “I figured we could spend the waiting time with more bonding. As in, you bonding with my hair and me getting acquainted with that pretty guy here.” I mused before I kissed the head of his dick, slowly moving along its shaft while I kept my eyes on Junho to catch his every reaction.

His breath hitched in his throat and I could clearly see how his pupils widened immediately, more of the animalistic ferociousness returning to keep me company. He didn’t move at all, though, probably keen to see how far I would go. And I was honestly not planning to hold back, so I jumped to it without further ado, licking my way back down to the tip before I swirled my tongue around it.

“Do you like that, babe?”

I received a silent nod accompanied by one of the most sensual lip-bites I had beheld in my entire life. Believe me, I’m not lying when I say that watching his reactions alone would get me off. Such a pity that this sight was only reserved for a select few, but I considered myself beyond lucky that I was among them. So I thanked him for this honour in the most satisfying way I could think of.

I took in as much as I could, sucking my way back up very slowly and with a hum that gave him gooseflesh all over his body. I was enjoying this a lot, far more than I would have thought and

judging by his hands grabbing my hair, so was he.

“Channie, don’t be such a tease, they usually don’t take more than thirty minutes to get here…” he urged me breathlessly. I didn’t really feel like giving in to this yet, but when he pointed it out again, I dragged my teeth along the sensitive skin very lightly.

“Ow, come on, you know we won’t be able to get to the door that quickly if you’re still sucking me off…”

“Since you’re in such a hurry to get off, I’m really sorry, but I’ll have to resort to different means…”

I warned him half-heartedly, but he still gasped in surprise when my middle finger found its way inside of him again, far from going easy on his prostate. I glared up at him with a sense of satisfaction, but the additional stimulus had him bucking his hips into my mouth, so I gagged when his dick hit the back of my throat unexpectedly.

“Serves you right!” he taunted me, not expecting my counterattack, though. I was done with that smug grin on his face, so I relaxed my throat and swallowed hard, my tongue flat against the underside of his dick. He craned his head back open-mouthed, muscles clenching around my finger and I knew he was close.

That’s why I let go of him completely, flicking his erection with my tongue out of spite when I sat back on my heels and looked up at him with the most self-satisfied smirk I could muster.

“What are you doing, Chansung?” he snarled at me through gritted teeth, eyes so narrowed that they were almost gone, hands clenching and unclenching rhythmically.

“Nothing?” I mused in a sing-song voice.

“I can see that…” he growled, perhaps even angrier now. And it had me beaming at him innocently.

“Will you continue anytime soon, Chansung?”

“I don’t think so. You wanted to be presentable for the delivery person, no? Why don’t you salute them with this beauty here?” The redness of his face told me that he was quite close to exploding, be it due to his arousal or my attitude, I wasn’t sure. Either way, I enjoyed his discomfort far too much to let it go already.

“I will certainly not greet them at the door with an erection! But fine, if you won’t do anything about that it’s on me. Have fun by yourself!”

He was about to turn around and walk away but I caught him by his hand and tugged at it. “Wait…”

I probably deserved the eye-roll that was coming my way but I didn’t let go regardless. “I was joking, of course. I just don’t like being rushed like that, you know? Please come here and let me finish this...”

He allowed me to pull him closer once he had given me a pouty look and sighed, relaxing significantly when I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my cheek against his chest.

“Why on earth am I giving you so much power over me, huh? You can be such a little shit sometimes, Chansung...”

His heartbeat was quicker than usual already, but it picked up in speed when I murmured against his skin: “Probably because you’re falling hard for me. Or because you’re into S/M, who knows.” I added with a tiny grin and he slapped my shoulder for it, glowering at me once again.

“What?! How would I know what your preferences are, Junho? Not like we’ve actually had a chance to talk about that yet. And judging by your scratchy ways-”

“I haven’t tried it yet. Simple as that. Never felt comfortable enough with someone to experiment. But since I hate claiming to dislike things unless I’ve tried them, I can’t say no yet.” he cut me short, blushing a little as he explained and it had me grinning against his stomach.

“I see. Well, make sure to ring me up if you ever feel like giving it a try, okay?” I offered with a wink and pecked his stomach.

He, however, merely flashed me a smile that spoke of murder and responded: “I’d rather cut off my left foot, babe.”

“Why yes, I love you too, kitten.”

“You’re hopeless, aren’t you?”

“If you mean hopelessly smitten by your charms, then yes, I guess I am. Any problems with that?” I was definitely enjoying this bickering a lot. But so was he, at least if his amused snort was any indicator. Or how he knelt down and pulled me into an incredibly tender kiss, his hands cupping my face and his eyes so full of affection that it left me speechless for a moment.

“Absolutely not. Crossing your path was probably the best thing that happened to me in a very long time-”

Then the doorbell rang and our eyes widened in shock as we uttered “Shit.” in unison. We stared at each other in panic before we glanced down and realised which state we were still in; Junho probably being worse off than me, so I figured I’d be the one to accept the pizza.

“Do you have a towel for me?” He nodded and got up, scurrying towards a small cupboard to return with one that I wrapped around my hips before I washed my hands in a hurry and ran for the door, my cock flopping around like nobody’s business. Not like that left me especially flustered or anything, nah.

 

Only when I had opened the door and was smiling at the delivery lady did I realise that I had no money on me to pay her, though, so I excused myself to get my wallet and returned to find her beaming brightly at me.

“You didn’t have to rush so much, Mr Lee.”

“Oh, I’m not- He’s my frie-”

“Sh, it’s okay. I won’t tell a soul. Here’s your pizza, dear.” she said, pushing the boxes into my hands with a motherly tone. And since I was still too flabbergasted to reply anything remotely sensible, I handed her the money with a mumbled “Thank you. Please keep the rest.”

She winked at me. Yes, the typical suggestive ‘I totally know you were banging just a couple of minutes ago, man. But good for you! Seems like it was a great fuck.’ kind of wink. But maybe I was reading too much into it.

“Enjoy your pizza together and have a great evening, love.”

Okay no, she definitely knew. Fuck.

I’m not even sure how I did it because my brain was still busy freaking out about a random stranger knowing what had happened here, but somehow I managed to put the pizza on the kitchen counter before Junho showed up behind me. Now wearing a bathrobe and looking a tiny bit flushed. Which was an incredibly gorgeous sight that distracted me for exactly five seconds. And then I freaked out.

“She knows we had sex, Junho. SHE KNOWS IT!” I had grabbed his collar and pulled him closer, my eyes probably wide as heck and I’m positive my overall impression was that of a lunatic.

His grin was as wide as ever, though, perhaps even a bit on the scary side. “Who knows what, Channie?”

“THE DELIVERY LADY KNOWS WE FUCKED LIKE BUNNIES! Can you please freak out a little?! I basically outed you by accident… Not like I told her, but SHE KNEW IT, I SWEAR!”

I saw the realisation dawn on him and he seemed to ponder on it for a moment, but then his hands were cupping my cheeks, or well, more like squishing them as he held my gaze: “Baby, look at me.”

I was still far from calm, though, so I wiggled around, my gaze probably wild as heck, but he was just as persistent as me and held me in place: “Chansung, look into my eyes! I am here. It’s okay. Nobody blames you. Hell, I don’t even care if she knows or not. I never made a secret out of it.”

“BUT SHE KNOWSH JHAT WE HAD SHEX, JUNHO!”

“Sh, you mentioned that already, sweetheart. But I don’t care. The whole world could be aware and I would only shrug. All that matters in this are you and me, Channie. The rest can fuck off for all I care. Besides, you’re definitely worth showing off a bit.” he concluded with a tiny wink and pressed a kiss to my lips. “Can I let go of you now? Are you calm enough?”

I gave him a single nod and heaved a sigh as I relaxed, burying my forehead in the crook of his neck, arms wrapped around him tightly. His scent calmed me down a lot more and I guess him rubbing my back helped with that as well.

“You probably weren’t that obvious, Channie... But the remnants of my cum on your nose and stomach might have been a clue.” he uttered with a chuckle in his voice, only holding me firmer when I tried to get away from him, wincing in embarrassment.

“And you smell like sex. That could have given you away, too.” he added teasingly.

“Whose side are you on, you devil?! End me, please… This is not how I wanted this evening to go.” I complained, still unable to look him in the eye because I was too embarrassed.

“Hey, baby bear, you gave that woman a great basis for steamy dreams about gay sex. You should be proud of that! Anyone who has seen you like this should consider themselves damned lucky, to be honest.”

“Oh shut up and let’s have that pizza already. I need something to help me overcome this embarrassment…”

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for the Unreal2PM writing challenge over at LJ, but I decided to post it here (and on my other profile on aff) as well, because it will be much easier to read.
> 
> That being said, I used the following prompts to write it:
> 
> **1\. Theme:** _Uncontrollable Laughter_
> 
> **2\. Quote/Lyrics:**
> 
> _"Do not fall in love with_
> 
> _people like me._
> 
> _I will take you to museums,_
> 
> _and parks, and monuments,_
> 
> _and kiss you in every_
> 
> _beautiful place so that you_
> 
> _can never go back to them_
> 
> _without tasting me like blood_
> 
> _in your mouth._
> 
> _I will destroy you in the most_
> 
> _beautiful way possible. And_
> 
> _when I leave you, you will finally_
> 
> _understand, why storms are_
> 
> _named after people."_
> 
>  
> 
> **3\. Picture:** [ _No pants underground ride_ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/mkc609/8379331619/)
> 
>   
>  ♒
> 
> About the title: 
> 
>   
>  **Sturmkind**  
>    
>  **Sturm:** **[ˈʃtʊrm]** German for storm, from Proto-Germanic  _*_ _sturmaz_  meaning "noise, tumult"
> 
> **Kind:** [kɪnt] German for child or offspring
> 
>   
>  **Meaning in this story:** Someone with an unpredictable temper;  
>  someone who shakes up normality and routine;  
>  someone with a power they can't fully control   
>   
> 
> Since this is an AU, I made some adjustments to their respective characters and personalities. I hope they're still somewhat true to their real selves, though. ^^'


End file.
